"Other BLACKPINK solo releases hit #1 but you..." Fans express anger at reporter's blatant rudeness to Jisoo

The press conference for 'Newtopia' has gained renewed interest in light of Jisoo's solo album release.

On January 7, the production presentation press conference took place at the Conrad Seoul Grand Ballroom for the new Coupang Play drama 'Newtopia' starring BLACKPINK's Jisoo. 'Newtopia' tells the story of a soldier, Jae Yoon (played by Park Jung Min), and his girlfriend waiting for him, Young Ju (played by Jisoo), as they race toward each other across zombie-infested Seoul.

Jisoo participated in a question-and-answer session on this day, but her interview regained attention due to the blatant rudeness of one reporter's question.

This reporter asked, "The other BLACKPINK members have all released solo albums, while you have pursued individual activities through acting. They each achieved number 1 with their solo projects—what goals do you hope to achieve through your acting career? What achievements do you hope to accomplish through Newtopia?"

Jisoo answered, "I was working on the film set all the time, so when our members achieved success, people around me would congratulate me as well. I received congratulatory remarks for our members' accomplishments as if they were my own, which made me feel even more like we were a family. Thanks to that, I was able to be even more enthusiastic while filming."

Netizens criticized the reporter for being openly rude to Jisoo and for comparing her to the other members. Fellow cast member Park Jung Min appeared uneasy when the reporter brought up the other BLACKPINK members' activities unnecessarily. 

These netizens expressed anger and criticized how obnoxious the interview question was but also praised Jisoo for her wise answer. They commented:

"Even as someone who isn’t a fan, that comparison question feels unnecessarily forced. They're in completely different fields, lol. Jisoo’s solo album did well too, so I don’t get it. It just feels bad."

"That question was obnoxious."

"She answered so well."

"Bringing up how the other members are 'No. 1' makes me wonder if it was meant to be a subtle diss or not."

"She answered wisely. I support Jisoo. She has never neglected her main job, yet she gets more criticism than singers who lip-sync or have disastrous live performances just because of personal taste."

"Jisoo handled that incredibly rude question really well."

"It was definitely rude. If you don’t think so, you probably speak the same way as that reporter in daily life."

"Jisoo answered so well. If it were me, my face would've soured instantly."

"It’s like this: Imagine you and your older sister were both into performing arts as kids, but you later switched to academics while your sister succeeded in the arts. Then, during a family gathering, a relative asks, 'Your sister got into a prestigious college through the arts. What are your goals with academics?' Wouldn’t that feel bad?"

"That question was way too rude. People should think before they speak—what you say can make someone uncomfortable. Those who don’t see a problem with it… please, just stop, lol."

"If the reporter wanted to bring up BLACKPINK members to create a headline-worthy answer, they could have phrased it differently"

"If they had just asked, 'What do you hope to achieve?' instead of dragging in the other members’ No. 1 rankings and basically implying 'How well do you think you’ll do with your 'bad acting'?', it would have been fine."

"It was definitely rude, lol. They could have just asked about her goals as an actress. Instead, they framed it like, "Your BLACKPINK members are doing great, so what about you?" Imagine if, at work or school, someone said, "So-and-so is excelling and getting promoted. What are you going to do?" That’s the same vibe."