Skip to main content

John Boyega ends ambassadorial deal with Jo Malone after being cut out of an advert for the Chinese market

John Boyega ends ambassadorial deal with Jo Malone after being cut out of an advert for the Chinese market


 Nigerian-born British actor, John Boyega has ended his ambassadorial deal with London cosmetics brand, Jo Malone, after being cut out of an advert he conceived, directed and starred in for the Chinese market. 

 

Boyega was replaced by Liu Haoran after the commercial was recast and reshot for the Chinese market. The original advert, London Gent, which was released last year featured Boyega walking around Peckham, south London, riding a horse, dancing with friends and hanging out with his family. The original cast was multicultural, while the Chinese remake featured no black cast members.

 

Reacting to the development which many have described as systemic racism, John Boyega disclosed that it was done without his consent. He added that it will be dealt with swiftly as he "doesn't have time for nonsense."

 

The actor tweeted; 

 

I have decided to step down as Jo Malone's global ambassador. When I joined the brand as their first male global ambassador last year, I created the short film we used to launch the campaign. It won the Fragrance Foundation Virtual awards 2020 for Best Media Campaign.

Their decision to replace my campaign in China by using my concepts and substituting a local brand ambassador for me, without either my consent or prior notice, was wrong. The film celebrated my personal story– showcasing my hometown, including my friends and featuring my family.

While many brands understandably use a variety of global and local ambassadors , dismissively trading out one’s culture this way is not something I can condone.

It’s back to back but I assure you this will be dealt with swiftly. I don’t have time for nonsense. We press on and strong. Stay blessed people

 

I don?t have time for nonsense - John Boyega ends ambassadorial deal with Jo Malone after being cut out of an advert for the Chinese market

 

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Boyega was not made aware of the recasting of the ad and only found out about it on Twitter. Reacting to Boyega's decision of severing ties on Twitter, Jo Malone tweeted; 

 

John Boyega is an incredible talent, artist and person and we were proud to have him as part of our Jo Malone London family. We respect John’s decision and we wish him all the best.

 

I don?t have time for nonsense - John Boyega ends ambassadorial deal with Jo Malone after being cut out of an advert for the Chinese market

 

It is not the first time Boyega has been erased from Chinese marketing materials. In 2015, Chinese posters for Star Wars: The Force Awakens sparked controversy after fans spotted that Boyega’s character Finn had been significantly reduced in size from the original poster.

 

Earlier this month, the actor spoke out about the systemic racism he experienced during his time in Star Wars. He told GQ;

 

“What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side. 

“I’m the only cast member who had their own unique experience of that franchise based on their race … it makes you angry with a process like that,” he added, referencing the racist Twitter campaign to boycott the franchise based on his casting.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

One child killed and another injured by stray bullets after illegal residents clash with police in South Africa

Two children were hit by a stray bullet in Cape Town, South Africa as illegal residents clashed with policemen.   The incident which happened on Monday August 24, according to reports by AFP, led to one child's death while another one was injured as illegal residents fired at police seeking to prevent them from moving into government housing units.   Recently, South African Police have been dismantling several unlawful property grabs by illegal residents.    The “land invasions” as it is called in South Africa is fuelled by rampant financiak inequality and a lack of low-cost housing in urban areas. But illegal owners of properties in South Africa have been violent recently as they set vehicles on fire and destroy community facilities while clashing with law enforcement officials.   On Monday, the clashes escalated as shots fired at police killed an eight-year-old boy and wounded a 12-year-old girl, Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato said in a statement. “Over the last mo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Court orders PDP to pay N180 million to a lawyer for successfully handling their cases

Today, Justice Jude Okeke of the FCT High Court, Maitama ordered the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to pay N180 million to Samuel Okutepa being his professional fee. Okeke who delivered judgment in a suit filed by Okutepa against the PDP, said Okutepa deserved to be paid the money for handling the cases for the party.  “The defendant is directed to pay the claimant N180 million being the earned professional fee for defending and prosecuting their cases listed out in the applicant’s statements of claims.’’   The court also ordered PDP to pay N50,000 to Mr Okutepa, a senior advocate of Nigeria, for successfully handling the cases. The judge held that it was not right for the PDP not to pay for the work they knew was well handled by the plaintiff. He said that the defendant claimed that they did not give him job to do, as no legal agreement was signed by the parties. The judge said that in the records before the court, the applicant was g...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nigeria democracy her, Late MKO Abiola's sons finally released by police

MKO Abiola Kassim and Aliyu Abiola, the two children of the late MKO Abiola who were arrested by the police after one of their father's widows, Adebisi allegedly accused them of being the masterminds of the robbery attack in their family home in Lagos weeks ago, have been released.    Though Adebisi has denied being behind her step-sons' arrest, the late politicians' sons secured their freedom after instituting a N100 million lawsuit against the police over violation of their fundamental human right.    Mike Ozekhome confirmed their release and also disclosed that Lola Abiola-Edewor, first daughter of late businessman, and another relative, signed an undertaking with the police over the bail of the brothers.   The Cable reported that Ozekhome added that four suspects have been charged before a magistrate’s court over the robbery.   He said;   “Yes, they have been released. There was no condition attached to their release because the...
Post a Comment
Read more