Blackpink Rose's Racism Controversy: Magazine Apologises For Cropping Her Photo, But Internet Isn't Convinced - 'Intention Was Clear'

Blackpink

member Rosé getting cropped from a major photo taken at the Paris Fashion Week triggered a massive debate on the internet. Amid international backlash over accusations of racism, the magazine that edited her out in the click featuring Hailey Bieber, Zoë Kravitz, and Charli XCX, has now issued an apology. However, internet is not convinced.

Rosé faces alleged 'racism'

Rosé attended the Saint Laurent Women’s 2026 S/S Collection show in Paris earlier this week as the brand’s global ambassador. Sitting front row alongside Hailey Bieber, Zoë Kravitz, and Charli XCX, Rosé was prominently featured in original images from the event. However, ELLE UK’s official Instagram post shared a group photo where Rosé, who stood on the far right, was cropped out entirely. Fans were quick to question bias against the K-pop diva.

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Magazine receives international backlash

Netizens flooded the comments section with questions like “Where is Rosé?”, accusing the outlet of hypocrisy, pointing out how it advocates feminism yet excluded a female Asian global ambassador. The publication removed the controversial post and instead uploaded a solo post of Rosé captioning it, "The most standout look came courtesy of Blackpink star Rosé." But the damage was done.In the light of the mounting backlash, ELLE UK issued an apology through their Instagram stories, claiming that the cropping was "for size" and wasn't meant to offend anyone. It promised to "represent the full spectrum of [their] audience" in the future.

Fans refuse to accept apology

Fans strongly reacted to the apology. A user wrote on social media, "Whoa… That last part got me f*cked up? It reads like, ‘We’re sorry we didn’t post the Asian you wanted to see,’ and not ‘We’re sorry for being racist.’ LMAO. What the hell?" Another one said, "Saying that they ‘didn’t mean to offend anyone’ is such BS… Seriously, the intention was crystal clear." One more said, "Even their apology is racist."More reactions read: "Honestly, it’s probably only because Rosé is popular that they even apologized—like, otherwise do we really think they would’ve done anything?", "Um… I’m taken aback by this apology because it is dismissing the people who raised issues as overly dramatic marginal voices falling outside the ‘spectrum of their audience'," and "For sure this makes it sound like the issue is not that they’re racist, but that a group of minorities is being overly dramatic." The controversy does not end there. Hailey Bieber reposted Charli XCX's content on October 1, which included an image where Rosé appeared noticeably darkened.