L'Oreal fires first trans model after white people comments

[Morphine Prince 109,691]

PARIS (Reuters) - French cosmetics giant L‘Oreal sacked its first transgender model to appear on a British advertising campaign after she described all white people as racist on Facebook. 

London-based model Munroe Bergdorf had announced on her Facebook page on August 27 that she was to be part of the French cosmetics brand’s new advertising campaign celebrating diversity. 

In an online message that later appeared on Friday to have been deleted, Bergdorf said, according to the Daily Mail newspaper: “Honestly I don’t have energy to talk about the racial violence of white people any more. Yes ALL white people.” 

L‘Oreal’s UK unit said on its Twitter page it had decided to terminate her contract: “L‘Oreal champions diversity. Comments by Munroe Bergdorf are at odds with our values and so we have decided to end our partnership with her.” 

In a post on her page on Friday, Bergdorf criticized the Daily Mail article and sought to defend her comments, which she said were a reaction to the violence of white supremacists in Charlottesville in the United States. 

“When I stated that ‘all white people are racist’, I was addressing that fact that western society as a whole, is a SYSTEM rooted in white supremacy - designed to benefit, prioritize and protect white people before anyone of any other race,” she said.

[Enzo 37,977]

What are ya doin' sweetie?

[PMKKARDASHiAN 8,570]

Generalizing and stereotyping on a media platform comes with ramifications. 

Maybe she worded it wrong, maybe she shouldn't have been asked the question in the first place, whatever. At the end of the day, I don't feel bad for her being fired for making outrageous statements. 

[FATCAT 60,888]

While I think their comments were misinterpreted, they don't need to dance around an issue like this without being precise and to the point. 

[littlepotter 76,616]

i don't even feel comfortable stating risky opinions on ggd without getting jumped, didn't she like think a bit before sharing that? 

[LetsGetHigh 52,683]

kii bitch now is jobless, karma is truly not a liar 

[venusfly 17,885]

This is good, people need to learn to respect each other.

[Oriane 22,783]

But why did they need to say she was trans ?

@Ferrer Zorola care to explain the excuse me no ?

[gag 22,449]

13 minutes ago, Morphine Prince said:

“When I stated that ‘all white people are racist’, I was addressing that fact that western society as a whole, is a SYSTEM rooted in white supremacy - designed to benefit, prioritize and protect white people before anyone of any other race,” she said.

I mean... she's right but saying 'all white people are racist' is a wrong way to go around it. 

[Morphine Prince 109,691]

Minus the "ALL White People" I see no lies. 

However, keep what MLK said in mind: 

"I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."

[Lion Heart 15,041]

“When I stated that ‘all white people are racist’, I was addressing that fact that western society as a whole, is a SYSTEM rooted in white supremacy - designed to benefit, prioritize and protect white people before anyone of any other race,” she said.

I don't see how saying "ALL WHITE PEOPLE ARE RACIST" accomplishes that. 

[Ryusei 61,502]

8 minutes ago, Oriane said:

But why did they need to say she was trans ?

cause HOW DARE if they dont... 

[Slayer 9,227]

She clarified herself on Facebook (see spoiler) and what she says is so well-written. I can completely understand where she's coming from. However her original posts with the 'white people are racist' remark was horribly worded and didn't get the point across at all. Sadly I can see why L'Oreal sacked her after those initial remarks, as I too interpreted them as an aggressive attack. People just need to be more careful before throwing around such powerful language.

 

Spoiler

Munroe's explanation on Facebook:

First up, let's put my words in context, as the Daily Mail failed to do so. This 'rant' was a direct response to the violence of WHITE SUPREMACISTS in Charlottesville. It was not written this week.

Secondly, identifying that the success of the British Empire has been at the expense of the people of colour, is not something that should offend ANYONE. It is a fact. It happened. Slavery and colonialism, at the hands of white supremacy, played a huge part in shaping the United Kingdom and much of the west, into the super power that it is today.

Whether aware of it or not, in today's society the lighter your skin tone (people of colour included) the more social privileges you will be afforded. Whether that's access to housing, healthcare, employment or credit. A person's race and skin tone has a HUGE part to play in how they are treated by society as a whole, based on their proximity to whiteness.

When I stated that "all white people are racist", I was addressing that fact that western society as a whole, is a SYSTEM rooted in white supremacy - designed to benefit, prioritise and protect white people before anyone of any other race. Unknowingly, white people are SOCIALISED to be racist from birth onwards. It is not something genetic. No one is born racist.

We also live in a society where men are SOCIALISED to be sexist. Women are SOCIALISED to be submissive. Gay people are SOCIALISED to be ashamed of their sexuality due to heterosexual people's homophobia. Cisgender people are SOCIALISED to be transphobic. We do not need to be this way. We are not born this way and we can learn to reject it. We are just socially conditioned to think this way from an early age. With the right education, empathy and open mindedness we can unlearn these socialisations and live a life where we don't oppress others and see things from other people's points of view.

So when a transgender woman of colour, who has been selected to front up a big brand campaign to combat discrimination and lack of diversity in the beauty industry, speaks on her actual lived experience of being discriminated against because of her race and identifies the root of where that discrimination lies - white supremacy and systemic racism - that big brand cannot simply state that her thoughts are not "in line with the ethics of the brand".

If you truly want equality and diversity, you need to actively work to dismantle the source of what created this discrimination and division in the first place. You cannot just simply cash in because you've realised there's a hole in the market and that there is money to be made from people of colour who have darker skin tones.

The irony of all this is that L'Oréal Paris invited me to be part of a beauty campaign that 'stands for diversity'. The fact that up until very recently, there has been next to no mainstream brands offering makeup for black women and ethnic minorities, is in itself due to racism within the industry. Most big brands did not want to sell to black women. Most big brands did not want to acknowledge that there was a HUGE demographic that was being ignored. Because they did not believe that there was MONEY to be made in selling beauty products to ethnic minorities.

If L'Oreal truly wants to offer empowerment to underrepresented women, then they need to acknowledge THE REASON why these women are underrepresented within the industry in the first place. This reason is discrimination - an action which punches down from a place of social privilege. We need to talk about why women of colour were and still are discriminated against within the industry, not just see them as a source of revenue.

Racism may be a jagged pill to swallow, but I suggest you force it down quickly if you want to be part of the solution. Doing nothing, does nothing and solves nothing. Empowerment and inclusivity are not trends, these are people's lives and experiences. If brands are going to use empowerment as a tool to push product to people of colour, then the least they can do is actually work us to dismantle the source, not throw us under the bus when it comes to the crunch. At times like this, it becomes blindly obvious what is genuine allyship and what is performative.

I stand for tolerance and acceptance - but neither can be achieved if we are unwilling to discuss WHY intolerance and hate exist in the first place.

 

[Pacify Him 9,073]

Where are the Tumblr SJWs? 

[Chic 20,830]

You say stupid **** as a company collaborator/representative, you get fired. You publicly say anything that doesn't represent the company's values, you get fired. End of story. Buh byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee