There is no doubt that “Black Panther” was one of the biggest movies of 2018. With many companies making their own merchandise to celebrate the film, Forever 21 has been no different with their very own Black Panther sweaters.
However, the clothing brand recently faced backlash as they had a white male model pose in a “Wakanda Forever” sweater for their website.
Those who disapproved of their choice of the model took to Twitter to express their thoughts. One user said, “A Wakanda Forever Fair Isle knit sweater modeled by an Eminem lookalike just makes no sense whatsoever, and it’s insulting. Forever 21 is canceled.”
A Wakanda Forever Fair Isle knit sweater modeled by an Eminem lookalike just makes no sense whatsoever, and it's insulting. @Forever21 is canceled
— felicia the critic (@felicianista) December 18, 2018
Since then, the company has removed the photo of the model from their website and replaced it with just a photo of the sweater. The company also has a black and yellow panther print sweater, which is modeled by a black male model, and a white Black Panther graphic top modeled by a female model.
According to The Blast, a rep for Forever 21 said in a statement, “Forever 21 takes feedback on our products and marketing extremely seriously. We celebrate all superheroes with many different models of various ethnicities and apologize if the photo in question was offensive in any way.”
Check out what people are saying on Twitter below:
Lol wakanda people you got on y’alls marketing team? Cause… this ain’t it @Forever21 pic.twitter.com/KeZR3w9imX
— Khalessi B ♔ (@ahfinebreeze) December 14, 2018
Not even Wakanda can escape gentrification. @blavity @blackpanther @urbanintellectuals @forever21 #forever21 pic.twitter.com/XBwJyyUCk2
— Jesuorobo Enobakhare Jr (@Jesuorobo) December 18, 2018
@Forever21 really got the palest person they could find to model a Wakanda Forever sweater. I'm crying. https://t.co/0ycedJ2eI6
— Marc Spector (@Lyracet90) December 18, 2018
????caucasians…@Forever21 is really outta their rabbit azz minds. Who approved this sht??? #WakandaForever is not for you people to promote or profit. Sickening pic.twitter.com/v7ZuRvTcze
— ure_too_close (@ure_too_close) December 18, 2018
I wonder when @Forever21 will issue the apology that’s probably been written since yesterday for this curated “outrage”. In 2018 this was not a “misstep” or “in poor taste”. 100% intentional. Go team! https://t.co/oMLEOye8fP
— Kelsi Taylor (@space_kels) December 18, 2018
Roommates, what are your thoughts?
