Lisa Meets Viral Monkey Punch; Recovery Accelerates Thanks to Celebrities’ Support

Lisa of BLACKPINK visited the Ichikawa City Zoo in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, on March 7 to show support for a monkey known as viral star Punch. She posted several photos on her Instagram Stories, showing herself looking into Punch’s enclosure and holding up an orangutan plush toy.

Punch is a young monkey who was abandoned by his mother last summer and has since relied on an IKEA orangutan toy. He began gaining online attention after being bullied by other monkeys in his enclosure. Lisa brought her own orangutan plush toy for the visit as a way to support Punch’s special habit. In the photos, she is wearing a gray hoodie, jeans, and a bright-colored knit beanie, smiling broadly as she enjoys her time with Punch.

Lisa is currently filming her new film “Tygo” in South Korea. BLACKPINK released their new mini-album “DEADLINE” in the last week of February, which includes five tracks—“Jump,” released earlier last summer, along with “Go,” “Me and My,” “Champion,” and “Fxxxboy.” “Jump” reached as high as position 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Lisa is not the only one who has shown affection for Punch. Musicians David Byrne and Noah Kahane appeared on “The Graham Norton Show” holding plush toys in Punch’s honor, and Rob Halford of Judas Priest showcased products related to Punch. Thanks to the support from these celebrities, Punch’s condition has improved significantly. Over the past few weeks, his social skills have greatly improved, and he appears to be less dependent on plush toys. There have even been days when he was not bullied by other monkeys throughout the day.

With Punch’s rising popularity, the Ichikawa City Zoo is seeing much larger crowds than before. The moment when a single monkey’s resilience met the warm support of celebrities transformed Punch from an animal being ostracized into an object of global attention.