Emma Watson Is Done Endorsing Beauty Products
Emma Watson became the millennial voice of feminism after telling the men of the world that they needed to step up and participate in the fight for gender equality. But earlier this week, Twitter accused the actress of being a hypocrite after a beauty ad from 2011 resurfaced. Now, Emma’s rep has said she isn’t endorsing beauty products anymore.
The problematic ad featured Emma showing off perfect skin while endorsing Lancôme’s Blanc Expert Malanolyser.
While the product is nothing more than a dark spot corrector it has the following description on Lancôme’s website;
“Discover the next generation dark spot correctors from the No.1 whitening brand in Asia… the precise action of Blanc Expert Melanolyser Spot Eraser allows to target spots, whichever their nature.”
Twitter uses were not happy that the actress was endorsing a skin bleaching product and said that by doing so she was perpetuating the idea that women of color needed to be more white.
There’s no question that skin bleaching products are inherently tied to racism and that their existence means there is something wrong with being of a darker skin tone – as if being dark is something that should be fixed. But when you look at this incident, it’s clear to see that the problem came from misuse of one word: whitening.
The product was targeted toward an Asian market who had a different understanding of “whitening” – an understanding different to a Western understanding. And even if it was a mistake made by the brand, the only thing Lancôme was guilty of was using a Thesaurus correctly.
Nevertheless, Emma’s team is not a fan of the ad, apparently. Her rep clapped back at the accusations telling The Independent;
“Many artists often have limited control of how their image is used once an endorsement contract is signed. I cannot comment on my client’s previous contractual arrangements with Lancôme. However my client no longer participates in advertising beauty products, which do not always reflect the diverse beauty of all women.”
Well said, Emma’s rep. Even if you’ll probably miss that ridic beauty contract commission…
