BLACKPINK Apologizes to Fans on Their Own 10th Anniversary After 40-Person Event Backlash

BLACKPINK's 10th anniversary arrived with an apology attached. On August 8, the same day the group debuted in 2016, Jisoo opened a Weverse live broadcast by acknowledging what a lot of Blinks were already saying out loud: the communication around the anniversary events had failed.

"We originally wanted to be with many more people," Jisoo said. "We knew it was an important day. But I think there was a problem with our communication. I'm truly sorry." She added that she wanted fans who felt let down to know the group still loved them, and asked them to try to understand.

The frustration had been building for days. YG Entertainment, which manages BLACKPINK's group activities, posted a notice on August 6, just two days before the anniversary, announcing a "Meet & Greet" at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul. The notice initially stated that only "some members" would attend due to scheduling conflicts, which sent the fandom into an immediate spiral. YG later clarified that all four members would be present, but the damage was done. Forty spots, decided by lottery. Two days' notice. For a decade-long milestone.

Fans had been voicing frustration even before the notice dropped, pointing out that the group seemed to have no meaningful anniversary plans at all. The belated, small-scale announcement did not ease that feeling.

Jisoo had already posted a longer message on Weverse before the live, writing that the anniversary felt like "a day filled with sorry." She said she had always wanted to show only her best side and be a source of happiness for Blinks during hard times, but that seeing so many fans upset was weighing on her. "The fact that BLACKPINK shines the way it does, that's because of Blinks," she wrote. "I'm sorry again for causing such disappointment, and I'm always grateful and I love you."

The other members found their own ways to mark the day. Rosé, who debuted at 19 and turned 29 on the anniversary, said ten years had passed faster than she could process. She showed up to the Weverse live with a cake and bouquets she had prepared for the other members, prompting Jennie to call her "our team's romantic." Jennie posted a group photo to her social media and wrote about how much Blinks' support had shaped who she is. Lisa said that both the happy and difficult moments of the past decade were possible because fans were there.

During the live, Rosé said it didn't feel like ten years had passed. Lisa admitted she had been too nervous to eat and had spent her hair and makeup time listening to BLACKPINK songs. Small details, but they landed.

The anniversary itself carries real weight. BLACKPINK debuted on August 8, 2016 with "Whistle" and "Boombayah," and spent the following decade stacking records that no K-pop girl group had touched. Their second full-length album BORN PINK simultaneously topped the Billboard 200 and the UK Official Albums Chart in 2022, making them the first girl group to pull that off since Destiny's Child in 2001, and the first Asian female artists to reach number one on both charts. They placed 11 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 as a group, the most of any female K-pop act. They headlined Coachella. They earned a French SNEP Singles Diamond certification, another K-pop girl group first. The list goes on.

Since 2024, the four members have continued their individual careers under separate agencies while keeping their group contract with YG for collective activities. The National Museum of Korea, where the Meet & Greet was held, also has a specific connection to the group: BLACKPINK hosted a listening session there for their third mini-album DEADLINE earlier this year.

The apology tour may be over, but the underlying tension, a decade of global success managed by a label that announced a 40-person anniversary event with 48 hours' notice, is a conversation Blinks are not finished having.