Italian luxury brand Gucci has apologized and stopped selling a sweater that social media users said resembled blackface, according to CNN.
Gucci took to Twitter on Wednesday and said it “deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the wool balaclava jumper.” Adding, “we consider diversity to be a fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected, and at the forefront of every decision we make.”
The black turtleneck sweater can be pulled up over the bottom half of someone’s face and features a cutout and red lips around the mouth. Social media users blasted it as resembling blackface.
At this point Gucci playing in our face but y’all still gone shop happy black history month 🤦🏽♂️‼️ pic.twitter.com/vPTLvsA0TF
— Casanova (@weeezy___) February 7, 2019
“Gucci made this item slightly offensive (just racist enough to cause outrage, but not racist enough to be indefensible) on purpose, so that Gucci could get black twitter talking about their item,” Twitter user Unemployedfatty wrote. “Then Gucci came with the textbook apology after they got the attention they wanted.”
“So @gucci puts out a sweater that looks like blackface...... On Black History Month.... And then issues an apology because they didn't know that blackface images are racist,” wrote Tariq Nasheed.
Gucci isn't the first brand to face controversy over items that resembled blackface. Last year, Prada apologized and removed animal-themed keychains that featured a brown monkey with large, red lips, called “Otto Toto.”
