A war has broken out online between those who think a new Gap advertising campaign is racist and those who can’t see what the fuss is about.
The advert is for a new clothing line – a collaboration between Gap and Ellen DeGeneres – and it has provoked criticism from those who say it is passive racism at its worst. Gap has now apologised and said it will pull the image from its campaign.
It’s the tall white girl resting her arm on the head of the shorter black girl that has triggered the controversy.
Kirsten West Savali, writing in The Root, a black culture magazine, argued the advert compounds “the feeling that our black bodies are undervalued and positioned to serve as props upon which white bodies can be better appreciated and admired.”
Black girls aren't armrests. They, too, can do anything. Do better, @GapKids. – @KWestSavali https://t.co/tdxH8fQQxq pic.twitter.com/b9bRH0yi5H
— The Root (@TheRoot) April 3, 2016
Black film director Matthew A. Cherry tweeted a picture from an old Gap ad campaign.
https://twitter.com/MatthewACherry/status/716753585552302080
English actor Eddie Marsan then ended much of the criticism by tweeting the below.
Prejudice is pre judging a situation and acting on it.I share a home with these TWO SISTERS. No issue here. #Gapkids pic.twitter.com/YzmzwJEOMw
— Eddie Marsan (@eddiemarsan) April 6, 2016
