Model in ‘racist’ Dolce & Gabbana ads vows to be ‘better Chinese citizen’
Written by News on 23/01/2019
A model who appeared in Dolce & Gabbana adverts which have been accused of racism has vowed to be a “better Chinese citizen”.
Zuo Ye was widely derided after featuring in promo videos in which she struggled to eat Italian food including pizza and pasta with chopsticks in November.
A narrator could be heard offering seemingly patronising advice and appeared to mispronounce the brand’s name, with some interpreting it as mocking the way Chinese people say Dolce & Gabbana.
Now, Zuo has posted a message about the campaign on Chinese social media network Weibo, saying that as a recent college graduate when she filmed the promo, she had not had time to consider the effect of the ads.
“I will grow from this experience and will better display the character of a Chinese citizen,” she said in the post.
Following the criticism of the ads, screenshots were also circulated on social media appearing to show one of Dolce & Gabbana’s co-founders making insulting remarks about China and Chinese people on Instagram.
A Shanghai runway show by the Milan designers was then cancelled.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana released a video to apologise for the ads, saying they hoped to be forgiven and would do their best to better understand and respect Chinese culture.
The company blamed hackers for the Instagram comments.
(c) Sky News 2019: Model in ‘racist’ Dolce & Gabbana ads vows to be ‘better Chinese citizen’
