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| After Lisa shared photos of her posing on a yellow seat of the retro-themed cafe, the owner took to his Facebook and posted comments about selling everything she touched and sat on, which drew strong criticism from thousands of fans of the K-pop star. / Captured from Lisa's official Instagram account |
By Lee Min-young
An owner of a Bangkok cafe is receiving huge backlash from fans of K-pop girl band BLACKPINK after posting controversial comments on social media which appeared as sexual harassment to Lisa Manoban, 22, the band's Thai member.
According to Thai media outlets on Sunday, the owner of Moon Cafe in Bangkok, a cafe the K-pop star visited Thursday, posted lewd comments about her visit, even attempting to put up items she used or touched for auction.
Soon after Lisa shared photos of herself posing there on Instagram, the owner took to Facebook and wrote, "I have been offered as much as 100,000 baht ($3,300) for the seat she sat on while taking photos. But I am not satisfied with the price point." He also said the cafe kept unwashed the glass and spoon she used.
Vulgar responses followed, with some postings asking if the owner had tissues she used or if the K-pop star had used the restroom, looking for the superstar's hair. The owner jokingly replied to those comments saying the auction has started. Some postings included sexually offensive comments.
His post on Facebook went viral causing furious Thai fans to publically shame the owner and the cafe in question, tweeting details of the cafe and warning not to visit there.
The owner later made a swift apology on his Facebook account saying he apologize to Lisa and her fans. "We all love and admire Lisa. I'm sorry for what happened."
The cafe is currently closed.
This provoked a deluge of criticisms from fans on social media, expressing disgust over the man's senseless objectification of women.
A fan account promoting the girl group tweeted: "I can't express in words how much the disrespect and sexual harassment of women makes me sick. It's even worse when it happens to those we love."
"Disgusting. Sexual harassment isn't a joke whether it's done verbally or physically and women aren't objects for men's sexual fantasies. Legal action should be taken. I feel so bad for Lisa. I hope only good things wait for her. This is so messed up." A second added.
BLACKPINK's management agency YG Entertainment has not made an official response to the incident.
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| Photos of her posing at the cafe in question. / Captured from Lisa's Instagram account |
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| Photo of the cafe in question taken after the incident. The cafe is temporarily closed with a 'closed' sign tucked behind its silver doors. / Courtesy of AFP |
