Anger over ‘Blackface’ on TV
Islamabad – Social media users in Pakistan have reacted with outrage after a popular morning TV show darkened fair-skinned models’ faces and asked contestants to “transform” them into beautiful brides, reported BBC on Friday.
The show Jago Pakistan Jago asked contestants on Wednesday to demonstrate bridal makeup looks for darker skin. However, the use of fair-skinned models with their faces painted darker has attracted a backlash online.
On the show, participants gave tips to the audience on how to apply makeup on darker skin. Adding to incredulity, the models’ faces were darkened while their arms, obviously much lighter, were not.
Many criticised the show for promoting “Pakistan’s obsession with fair skin”. “Racism is not okay,” one social media user wrote. “Not in the west or the east, not anywhere. It’s about time we learned this,” they added.
Senior journalist Hamna Zubair said, “Blackface is not OK. It’s also not OK to say that applying makeup on dark skinned people is so hard.”
Pakistani-American Saher Sohail, who runs a popular comedy Instagram account, was incredulous. “What were you thinking?” she asked. “When some of you shared this with me I honest to God couldn’t believe it,” she continued. Her post has attracted more than 7,000 likes.
Many social media users have been directly targeting the Instagram account of the show’s host, actress Sunam Jung. “Wow, still no apology?” one social media user wrote. “I’m baffled at how you can get away with this,” they continued. Others have posted abusive messages.
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