BLACKPINK fans in Philippines notice singer Jennie unwell amid allegations of Shopee meet and greet scam
Blinks - the fan army of South Korean band BLACKPINK consisting of members Jennie, Lisa, Jisoo and Rose - in the Philippines, are not happy. They were quick to notice that their favorite star Jennie seemed unwell at the recent meet and greet organized by Shopee at Manila, all while complaining about the organizers scamming real fans of the band out of their tickets.
Fans shared videos on YouTube and Twitter in which it can be clearly seen that Jennie looks uncomfortable and has difficulty breathing. Many also shared clips on Twitter and hoped that their favorite star will get better soon.
Fans in the Philippines booked and paid for tickets to get seats for the meet and greet, but not all would be allowed. The organizers announced that only the top 50 people would be invited for the event they referred to as a "contest." However, the same was not conveyed to the fans accurately. Many realized they did not have entry only after reaching the venue of the meet and greet.
Some of the fans who spent a lot of money on securing places were seated in the back. The fans also alleged the organizers chose influencers and artists who had no clue about BLACKPINK to be a part of the event as the top 50 which resulted in more outrage on social media sites.
The fact that Jennie's condition was not acknowledged by the hosts and the organizers, and that some of the influencers who did make it to the event called Jennie lazy, did not help Shopee. Fans began posting videos of Jennie looking visibly unwell and having trouble breathing on stage. One fan, @luvbngtanct, wrote on Twitter, "Jennie is sick and she's having a panic attack TT my baby please get well soon #ShopeeBlackpinkinMNL."
Another fan, @bpverses noted how Jennie's sincerity was wasted on the audience who were not even Blinks in the first place. She wrote, "Can’t believe Jennie insists on attending this event even though she’s sick while 80% of the people in there aren’t even blinks."
This fan also shared posts about how Shopee invited artists and influencers who are not even fans of BLACKPINK to take part in the meet and greet. One of the posts read, "Some influencers are saying that Jennie is lazy?!! LAZY?!! Make sure I don't see you outside. Ungrateful people! You guys got the free ride while us would cut an arm off just to be there [sic]." Another angry fan, @jenniesfault wrote, "JENNIE WAS OBVIOUSLY HAVING A HARD TIME TO BREATHE AND NO STAFF ACKNOWLEDGE IT [sic]. NO ONE. I F**KING HATE SHOPEE, THE SITUATION COULD HAVE GONE WORST [sic] IF SHE DIDNT HANDLE IT WELL."
The hashtag #Shopeescam began trending on Twitter after many fans posted screenshots and conversations with organizers about the fact that they paid for missing tickets. Amid worrying about Jennie getting sick and posting about the scam itself, the hashtag became number one trend in the Philippines.
After local news channels began covering the fans' outrage, Shopee put out an official statement in which they said, "All of us at Shopee would sincerely like to apologize to users and fans of Shopee and BLACKPINK for the issues involving the Shopee X BLACKPINK meet and greet today in Manila. The event fell short of the high standards that Shopee users and BLACKPINK fans expect, and we hear our community's feedback loud and clear."
The band is currently on a world tour and they recently also performed at the Coachella Music Festival.