“Let Jennie attend Cannes”: BLACKPINK’s fans hope the SOLO singer gets to make her debut appearance at 76th Cannes Film Festival

On April 14, 2023 (April 13 local time), the 76th Cannes Film Festival announced the films and series to be screened at this year’s festival, and BLACKPINK’s Jennie’s debut Hollywood production HBO’s The Idol will also be screened. This has led to Cannes inviting the SOLO singer to the Cannes Film Festival for the Out of Competition category.

While The Idol is all set to premiere in the Out of Competition category at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May 2023, it hasn’t been decided whether or not Jennie will be attending the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Recently, YG Entertainment released a statement that said:

“She was invited. Whether she will attend or not is yet to be decided.”

However, BLINKs are demanding that YG Entertainment let the BLACKPINK member attend the event.

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BLACKPINK’s Jennie may grace this year's Cannes Film Festival with her debut series, The Idol

HBO’s The Idol marks BLACKPINK’s Jennie acting debut. The show centers around a pop singer named Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), who gets caught up in a strange romance with a mystifying cult leader (The Weeknd). The series is jointly created by The Weeknd and Euphoria’s creator Sam Levinson.

Apart from being the first member to make her Hollywood debut, Jennie is the second BLACKPINK member after Jisoo to venture into the acting space. She is also the first BLACKPINK member to be invited to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Previously, IU has attended the film festival for her film Broker and f(x) member Krystal will be attending this year's film festival for her film Cobweb.

However, it doesn’t rule out the fact that BLACKPINK’s Jennie is one of the elite few K-pop idols to be invited to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, where idols like IU and Im Siwan have previously graced the event. Although there is no confirmation of her attendance just as yet, BLINKs are rejoicing on social media, demanding that YG Entertainment allow the SOLO singer to attend the event.

It remains to be seen if BLACKPINK’s Jennie will be able to make it to the Cannes Film Festival, considering the group’s busy schedule at the moment. The 76th Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 16-27, 2023. By that time, BLACKPINK will be wrapping up their Singapore concert and will be performing at the Macau concerts on May 21 and 22, which will be followed by their Bangkok concerts on May 27 and May 28.

If the SOLO singer chooses to attend, she will be required to leave after the group’s Singapore concert and attend the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Following this, she will have to rejoin BLACKPINK at their Macau concert.

Korean films such as Hopeless, starring Song Joong-ki, and Cobweb, featuring Song Kang-ho, Jeon Yeo-been, and Krystal, will be screened in the Un Certain Regard and Out of Competition categories, respectively.

If BLACKPINK’s Jennie attends, she and Krytal will be the two K-pop idols to attend the Cannes Film Festival at the same time.

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BLACKPINK’s Jennie’s role in The Idol is an insignificant one, claims sources from the production

BLACKPINK’s Jennie will be playing the role of Angel in The Idol, who identifies herself as a bisexual. She is friends with the jaded pop star Jocelyn. However, unknown sources from the production of HBO’s The Idol claimed to The Rolling Stone that the Pink Venom singer has been used in the series for clout.

“‘It was like three or four lines per episode for her,’ a production source says. ‘They didn’t let her talk that much. Her job was to sit there [and] look pretty, basically.’”

The sources claim that The Weeknd and Sam Levinson gave her “an inconsequential arc” and has no substantial role to her credit in the series. Additionally, they revealed that her character is a queer bait, which is a marketing tactic where makers hint at a same-sex relationship but do not showcase it.

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HBO’s The Idol will be released sometime in the second half of 2023.