Lisa at the 2025 Met Gala in New York City. Photo by / Getty Images
Lisa at the 2025 Met Gala in New York City. Photo by / Getty Images
A White Lotus actress has been branded “distasteful” for wearing what appeared to be underwear featuring Rosa Parks’ face to the Met Gala.
K-pop singer and actress Lisa, who starred in season three of the hit dark comedy The White Lotus, arrived at Monday’s annual fashion event wearing a black embroidered bodysuit and monogrammed tights by Louis Vuitton.
The 28-year-old’s outfit appeared to be a nod to this year’s theme celebrating black dandyism: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”.
However, some pointed out that the underwear was embroidered with faces – one of which appeared to depict Parks.
The fashion statement sparked backlash, with many claiming it was disrespectful.
“Who thought this was a good idea? Mind you not only is it highly distasteful, how is this on theme?” one commenter asked on X.
“Who the hell decided it was a good idea to put the faces of influential black women on a pair of panties,” said another.
A third person asked: “So Rosa Parks, who literally risked her life for civil rights, is now lingerie decor? And the defence is ‘Lisa might not know her yet’? Sorry, but ignorance isn’t edgy.”
The controversial outfit weaved illustrations of people’s faces into Lisa’s embroidered blazer and underwear, with some suggesting the faces of Maya Angelou, an African American poet, and Ann Lowe, an African American fashion designer, were also visible.
Lisa appears to wear underwear with faces on. Photo / Getty Images
It comes after Lisa – who is a member of K-pop group Blackpink – and her fellow bandmates were embroiled in a racism row after footage was leaked of them saying the n-word in an audition tape.
The video dates from when the band members were minors – before they were signed – mumbling the lyrics to a cover song that featured the racial slur.
Although the video was met with online backlash, none of the band members have publicly acknowledged the incident.
“Despite saying the n-word multiple times and never apologising, Lisa doesn’t seem to care as she wears underwear with images of Rosa Parks, a civil rights icon who fought against racial injustice,” wrote one critic on X.
Lisa has faced criticism. Photo / Getty Images
Lisa has not spoken publicly about the inspiration behind her outfit, but Vogue suggested it was influenced by the artist Henry Taylor, whose portraits are “embroidered into the bodice of Lisa’s ensemble”.
Louis Vuitton told The Cut that Mr Taylor’s artworks represent “figures who have been a part of the artist’s life,” but did not say whether Parks was one of those figures.
Parks, known as the “mother of the civil rights movement”, sparked the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat in defiance of Jim Crow laws enforcing racial segregation.
