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Post by Admin on Dec 18, 2018 19:54:18 GMT
Italian fashion house Prada has been forced to remove its black monkey toy figurines over accusations of evoking racist imagery. The statuettes are part of Prada's new Pradamalia line of goods. The monkeys' design, featuring cartoonishly big lips, has been slammed for resembling blackface, dark make-up worn by non-black performers to appear as stereotyped African characters. This performance tradition originated in the United States in the first half of the 19th century, when black entertainers were not accepted on stage. Nowadays, blackface imagery is widely considered racially insensitive. The luxury firm has issued a statement saying that the controversial figurines are "fantasy charms composed of elements of the Prada oeuvre". While denying having any intention of offending sensibilities, Prada vowed to take the items off the shelves. "Prada Group never had the intention of offending anyone and we abhor all forms of racism and racist imagery. In this interest we will withdraw the characters in question from display and circulation," the company said.
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Post by Admin on Dec 19, 2018 18:40:49 GMT
Prada has agreed to set up an advisory council to address issues of "diversity, inclusion and culture," after the fashion company was accused last week of selling a line of accessories closely resembling racist blackface imagery. The label pulled the Pradamalia merchandise on Friday, insisting in a statement that the items were "fantasy charms composed of elements of the Prada oeuvre." Chinyere Ezie, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights who first brought attention to the "Sambo like imagery" in a Soho storefront, subsequently blasted the "non-apology apology." "The fact that this was green-lit at headquarters tells me, indisputably, there are no black faces, no one who looks like me, in the company's decision making tree," Ezie told Gothamist. "This company is completely tone deaf when it comes to race and I don't think people should be shopping there anymore."
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Post by Admin on Dec 31, 2018 18:09:16 GMT
The city has launched an investigation into Prada after a Soho store was blasted on social media for displaying racist figurines.
New York City's Commission on Human Rights announced it has opened a formal probe into Prada after the Broadway store showcased a line of collectibles, known as Pradamalia, that include a $500 dark-wood monkey keychain named Otto with oversized red lips and bulging eyes, the commission recently announced.
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Post by Admin on Jan 22, 2019 18:49:18 GMT
The Chinese model who appeared in a Dolce & Gabbana advertisement that triggered a major backlash over accusations of racial stereotyping has broken her silence to apologise for her part in the film, adding that it had “completely ruined” her career. Two months after the saga, Zuo Ye, a recent graduate of South China Agricultural University, wrote on the social media network Weibo on Monday that she had not given enough thought to the content of the video and felt “very guilty and ashamed” about the ensuing uproar. “Personally I would never show any disrespect to my motherland. I love my country and feel proud to be able to represent China on the catwalk,” wrote Zuo. “I will draw a lesson from this and show the Chinese in a better light. Again, I apologise to my fellow countryman.”
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