Dove Model Lola Ogunyemi Speaks Up Following Controversial Racist Ad

Dove commercial model Lola Ogunyemi is breaking her silence over the controversial ad released by the brand earlier this month.

The Dove commercial draw backlash after it featured a black woman taking off her brown shirt and revealing a white woman wearing a beige shirt underneath. The ad seemingly suggested that using Dove body wash could make your skin whiter.

In an interview with The Guardian, the Nigerian model explained why she decided to accept the project. “I am a Nigerian woman, born in London and raised in Atlanta. I’ve grown up aware of society’s opinion that dark-skinned people, especially women, would look better if our skin were lighter. Having the opportunity to represent my dark-skinned sisters in a global beauty brand felt like the perfect way for me to remind the world that we are here, we are beautiful, and more importantly, we are valued,” she said.

But even though Ogunyemi signed on for the global beauty campaign, she admitted that she wasn’t aware of how the final cut of the Dove commercial would turn out to be. She said that if she had known what the final edit would be, she wouldn’t have accepted the project.

“I went online and discovered I had become the unwitting poster child for racist advertising. No lie. If you Google ‘racist ad’ right now, a picture of my face is the first result. If I had even the slightest inclination that I would be portrayed as inferior, or as the ‘before’ in a before and after shot, I would have been the first to say an emphatic ‘no.’ I would have unhappily walked right off set and out the door. That is something that goes against everything I stand for,” she said.

Meanwhile, Dove has already released a public apology via their official Twitter account. In their post, the acknowledged the mistake they made and apologized for “missing the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully.”

The soap company also issued a lengthier apology on Facebook, they also shared on Twitter, saying that the feedback they received from their supporters and critics will be considered in making future ads.