How does it feel to be the subject of an online scandal?
That's one of the questions asked in a new documentary about Lalisa Manoban. Lisa is a member of the K-pop phenomenon Blackpink and a rising star in the TV series "The White Lotus".
This documentary chronicles a simmering controversy. Leaked videos show that Blackpink members used racially charged terms when they were teenagers as K-pop trainees.
The videos, which emerged last year, show the group performing covers of American rap songs during rehearsals. The explicit language, including insults directed at black people, has not been silenced.
The controversy quickly escalated while Lisa was rehearsing for a key performance at the 2025 Coachella Festival.
Some offended and dissatisfied fans demanded an apology, but the group's record label barred members from issuing statements.
As Lisa's team goes into crisis mode, documentary filmmaker Sue Kim follows Lisa into her dressing room.
King told the BBC: "I told her: 'Listen, I know this is sudden. I know you're very confused and hurt, but now is your time to say whatever you want to say. Even if you're just gathering your thoughts and telling us how you feel, that's okay.'"
The director said she "honestly thought Lisa would refuse."
However, Lisa lay on the sofa and spoke frankly.
"This is really bad," the singer says in the documentary with a mixture of shame and nervousness.
Lisa explained that she was "15 or 16 years old" when the relevant video was shot, and "didn't know that word was sensitive because I'm from Thailand and English is not my first language."
Since she had only heard the word in rap music, she didn't understand its offensive historical context.
"I would never do that again now that I have an education," she said. "Now I understand better."
"But I did make a mistake."
It was a vulnerable and sincerely human response, very different from the PR-style apology one might expect. (Lisa has since issued a public apology in an interview with fashion magazine Variety, although some remain unmoved.)
Kim said Lisa's reaction in the moment was "one of the most important scenes" in her documentary "Always Lalisa."
The film will be released on Monday, October 12.
She added: "Lisa had no preparation or any media training."
"I only asked her one question, and she talked for an hour and told her everything, completely in a stream-of-consciousness style."
"And the Lisa you see in that moment is so real that it's almost impossible not to feel sympathy for her."
The incident cast a shadow over the release of Lisa's debut solo album, Alter Ego, which was supposed to be a huge success.
In the documentary, the singer received death threats but continued to attend public events despite safety concerns "that were always in the back of my mind."
"At some point, I have to accept the criticism and compromise, but sometimes it goes too far," she said wearily.
In a world filled with carefully packaged images of celebrity, King's presentation of turmoil and discomfort is unusual. She asked Lisa what she thought about the negative comments and also filmed the star being scolded by her vocal teacher for not trying hard enough.
However, the documentary was commissioned by the film division of Lisa's record label, which also produced the recent Oasis documentary, which was much less revealing. Therefore, the documentary is ultimately a marketing product.
Even the most conflicting sequences are arranged to present a more positive image of Lisa. But the director believes that it was Lisa herself who made this work more than just a promotional video.
"When you meet an artist, you never know how candid they will be. I owe this entirely to Lisa because she let us shoot with almost no reservations," Kim said.
"And when I showed her the film, she never asked me to delete a scene. That's very rare."
The main story of this documentary revolves around Lisa's journey of leaving Korean pop music (K-pop) temporarily, entering the Western music market, and seeking cross-border development.
When viewers meet her in the film, she is already one of the most famous women in the world, with record sales and endorsement deals with brands such as Louis Vuitton and Bvlgari.
But she's trapped in a K-pop system that forbids her from drinking or falling in love like an adult.
She said in the film: "I didn't want my relationship to be a factor that harmed Blackpink's popularity. But when I turned 25, I realized that life shouldn't be lived like this."
Therefore, Lisa decided early in the film to part ways with YG Entertainment (YG), the Korean entertainment company that discovered her when she was a teenager, and sign a new contract with RCA Records in the United States.
"Knowing her, knowing her, that took a lot of courage," King said.
"Overall, she is a very kind and caring person. And people with a personality like this are sometimes not willing to break the status quo."
"Having been trained in the K-pop system since she was a child, she is used to being submissive. Declaring that she wants to leave temporarily is a huge disruption to that lifestyle. I can only imagine that this idea must have been brewing in her mind for many years."
The potential rewards of going solo are huge, but so are the risks.
In the documentary, we see Lisa struggling to take charge in the studio and tearfully wrestling with nerves due to a lack of confidence in her singing.
At 25 years old, she still has a childlike quality to a certain extent. The fierce independent spirit displayed in her solo single "New Woman" sounds more like an expectation than a fait accompli.
King said that began to change as filming progressed.
"I saw a person who was originally very hesitant and lacked confidence slowly spread her wings. She would make mistakes, but she would stand up again."
King sees Lisa's inner confidence in home videos of her competing in talent competitions as a child, contrasting the precocious seven-year-old with the young woman slowly regaining control of her life.
She worked tirelessly to get a chance to star in the third season of the popular TV series White Lotus Resort, and eventually landed the role of kind-hearted health consultant Mook Sornsin by recording her own audition video.
On the set, she got rid of the moral constraints of her idol career.
"Lisa throws more parties than anyone else," the show's executive producer said in an interview.
"And the hallmark of Lisa's party is cups of tequila."
King did not participate in those hedonistic activities. In fact, the director and her filming team often fell ill trying to keep up with Lisa's extremely tight schedule.
In the year since then, Lisa has completed Blackpink's group activities and launched the second stage of her solo career with the single "Sawadika". King said she was not surprised.
"Spending that year in the United States and temporarily breaking away from the K-pop system really broadened her horizons," the director said.
"She was exposed to a different entertainment industry system, where artists did not need to abide by abstinence-like norms. If two celebrity artists form a relationship, people may even think that they have greater influence as a result."
"This gave her an idea: 'It turns out that I can have a different life. Even if I want to get married and have children, I won't necessarily lose my career.'"
