"Lara still looks like an evil Indian witch with that ugly nose."
KATSEYE’s Lara Raj faced racist abuse amid the controversy surrounding the girl group’s upcoming track ‘Gnarly’.
The upcoming track is set to release on April 30, 2025, however, the teaser got social media users talking.
Viewers claimed it looked similar to ‘Drama’, the 2023 hit by K-pop group aespa.
Visual parallels of the black outfits and the red carpet led to plagiarism accusations.
The initial claim came from a BLACKPINK supporter. However, the conversation quickly grew beyond fandom circles and exploded across social media.
Things took an ugly turn as racist abuse was aimed at KATSEYE member Lara Raj, who is of Indian heritage.
Lara Raj had engaged with fans on Weverse, a platform widely used for fan engagement.
During the chat, Lara asked followers for song cover suggestions, specifically K-pop ones.
She then wrote: “Something singyyyyyy, maybe like Drama?”
Speculation soon erupted.
Some fans interpreted it as a subtle dig at the plagiarism allegations. Others accused her of being insensitive.
While criticism over the reference was expected, what followed shocked many: a wave of racist and personal insults.
One wrote: “BLACKPINK is known in the west, KATSEYE is nobody there, in Korea and Lara’s dirty village from India. Next.”
Another posted: “Lara still looks like an evil Indian witch with that ugly nose.”
A third added: “I just know she stinks.”
Commenting on Lara’s appearance, one person called her a “cringe hook nose b***h”.
Blackpink is known in the west, Katseye is nobody there, in korea and lara’s dirty village from india. Next
— barbzsz (@barbszzz23) April 25, 2025
Some brought up the topic of fame, mocking KATSEYE’s stardom.
One person stated that aespa’s Karina has more Instagram followers than every KATSEYE member combined, referring to the latter as ‘nugu’, a slang term describing groups or idols who lack widespread recognition.
The comment read: “This nugu needs to pipe the f**k down.
“Karina alone is more popular and relevant than all of KATSEYE members combined.”
Another person posted: “And Lara still a lame a** weirdo.
“My faves are too famous and booked to get involved in Twitter fanwars.
“I doubt anyone in aespa even knows her ugly a** exists.”
Others defended the pop star as one commented:
“There’s nothing wrong with what Lara is saying cause she’s not being shady towards aespa, just their f***ass fans?
“She’s always shown that group love, but their fans are denying her and her group’s talent and culture over a red carpet.”
Hitting back at the racist comments, another said:
“You think racism is cool? All for the sake of what?”
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