It’s 2020 and many Indians are still obsessed with the idea of fair skin. Proof lies in the many matrimonial ads in newspapers demanding ‘pretty and fair’ brides. The brands manufacturing fairness creams were forced to stop promoting such biases after the Advertising Standards Council of India laid down rules to end this discrimination. They, however, changed their strategy and used euphemisms like dark spot reduction and nikhari twacha. This market is huge and we haven’t even started on alpha males talking about ‘not using women’s fairness cream’.
Many A-list celebrities, such as Priyanka Chopra, Sonam Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Shah Rukh Khan, and John Abraham have promoted fairness creams. Now, the internet is not happy about the hypocrisy of some of these celebrities condemning the death of George Floyd, a black man who was allegedly suffocated to death by a police officer in Minneapolis.
Actors Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor, Disha Patani, and many others urged people to condemn racism and support “Black Lives Matter”.
A Twitter user rightly pointed out that while it’s great that B-Town celebs are being vocal about the police brutality against black people, these are the same set of celebrities who had no qualms about perpetuating colourism and a skewed idea of beauty.
List of Indian actors who are speaking on BLM and their fairness cream ads, a thread : pic.twitter.com/yUeRNLch6U
— anti pigeon (@aluminiummaiden) May 31, 2020
— anti pigeon (@aluminiummaiden) May 31, 2020
This is very vague but let's count it pic.twitter.com/qCRWKsORMw
— anti pigeon (@aluminiummaiden) May 31, 2020
The Twitter user further points out that their views might have changed now but, “it’s about selective and performative activism especially when they have at some point propagated a colorist attitude in their own country.” Here’s what Twitterati is saying:
Tweeple are raising another important question that many of these celebrities, who are raising their voice against racism in the US, shy away from speaking up on issues back home. And whether someone who has sold dreams of a better future to millions of women enduring shaming due to their skin tone back home realises their hypocrisy in raising their concerns about racism in the US.
Featured Image: Twitter
