LifestyleTop News Today

Gucci Boycott Begins Over ‘Blackface’ Sweater

- Is the act ignorance or racist? TAKE OUR POLL!

Spread The Love

Italian luxury brand Gucci is facing calls for a worldwide boycott after creating a sweater design that many believe is an exact replica of someone in blackface.

Lifestyle
The design in question is a black turtleneck sweater which pulls up over the bottom half of the face and has cut-out and oversized red lips around the mouth.  When Gucci took the design public, the negative reaction was almost instant against the decision making that went into the release of the controversial campaign.

Gucci

In a Twitter post from last week, Gucci said it “deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the wool balaclava jumper.”

 

They also added that the sweater is no longer on the company’s website,

“We can confirm that the item has been immediately removed from our online store and all physical stores,” Gucci said. “We are fully committed to increasing diversity throughout our organization and turning this incident into a powerful learning moment for the Gucci team and beyond.”

Needless to say, not everyone was buying it.

Gucci

.

In a backlash that has grown to include such hip-hop artists as T.I., Soulja Boy, and Waka Flocka Flame, the general public has taken to social media urging everyone to not only stop wearing Gucci designs but to also cease buying from them in the future.

“As a 7 figure/yr customer & longtime supporter of your brand I must say…Y’all GOT US f-cked UP!!! APOLOGY NOT ACCEPTED!!!!” T.I. wrote on Instagram alongside a Gucci logo. “We ain’t going for this “oops my bad I didn’t mean to be racist and disrespectful towards your people” shit!!! Y’all knew wtf y’all was doin and WE AINT GOING FOR IT!!!”

Soulja Boy, who is often seen wearing a Gucci headband, also took to social media to share his frustration over the blackface sweater.

“Smh what is this man? —-‍♂️ no more @gucci headbands for me. Who’s responsible for this? Because it’s not funny! At all!” the rapper posted on Instagram.

 

Gucci

Interestingly, this is not the first time a fashion brand has been accused of using ethnically insensitive imagery. Last year, luxury fashion house Prada withdrew several products from sale after items it displayed in a Manhattan storefront were seen as depicting blackface. The products, which were part of Prada’s Pradamalia line, were pulled after images surfaced of some merchandise depicting monkey-like figures with black faces and large red lips.

This is also not the first time that White-Americans didn’t blink an eye before dressing in blackface for a party, or for believing the only way they could successfully costume as someone black was to blacken their face to the darkest extreme.

The Gucci sweater debacle comes on the heels of a contentious situation in Virginia, where the presiding governor and attorney general were each found to have dressed in blackface during their college days.

GUCCI

Additionally, a teacher at the Old Fourth Ward Charter School in Atlanta was suspended recently for directing her 2nd-grade students to hold blackface masks while reciting a poem for a school play.  According to the teacher, she thought she was presenting a touching tribute in honor of Black History Month.

With a white citizen or corporation being caught and reprimanded nearly every other month for either appearing in, showing support for, or being completely insensitive to the racist connection to blackface, is it possible that everyone is seriously so unknowledgeable and unaware of the weight of their actions?  Or, could it be these people know exactly what they’re doing but just don’t care?

.

TAKE OUR POLL:

[socialpoll id=”2538098″]

OK WASSUP! discusses Lifestyle:
Gucci ‘blackface’ sweater creates controversy.

0 0 votes
Article Rating

DJ

DJ is the creator and editor of OK WASSUP! He is also a Guest Writer/Blogger, Professional and Motivational Speaker, Producer, Music Consultant, and Media Contributor. New York, New York USA

Related Articles

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
3 Comments
oldest
newest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Mr.BD

They knew what they were doing. I’m not buying no type of apology.

Wil

AP:
Katy Perry’s fashion line is facing criticism after one of the shoe styles seems to portray racist imagery. The shoes were pulled from a number of retailers including Dillards and Walmart.

Both the “Rue Face Slip On Loafers” and “Ora Face Block Heel Sandal” are designed with large, blue eyes and red lips against a beige or black background. However, the black style has critics pointing out the resemblance to classic blackface makeup.

Truthiz1

I’m late responding to this but it’s certainly a topic worth discussing….

I think this continued obsession with “blackface” displayed by white people who should know better by now is rooted as much in ignorance as it is in racial insensitivity.

Further- As I’ve expressed on a related post (the Gov. of VA) I truly believe there’s something deeper -and darker if you will- going on within the minds of white people who still engage in such obvious racist nonsense. Perhaps a type of psychological defect brought on by some intensely disturbing insecurities.

Much like the intensely disturbing insecurities I believe are mostly responsible for “Obama Derangement Syndrome.”

Back to top button
3
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x