Source: Ben Pruchnie / Getty
If you have been on social media over the last five days, you may have seen the GapKids ad that has gone viral for it’s racial undertones. Less than a week ago, GapKids tweeted photos of their new ad campaign with the caption, “meet the kids who are proving that girls can do anything.”
Many twitter users pointed out that the young white girls were all displaying their talents, but the one young African-American girl was being used as an “armrest.” Yesterday, GapKids decided to pull the ads after a massive amount of backlash from consumers.
A spokeswoman for Gap said, “As a brand with a proud 46-year history of championing diversity and inclusivity, we appreciate the conversation that has taken place and are sorry to anyone we’ve offended. This GapKids campaign highlights true stories of talented girls who are celebrating creative self-expression and sharing their messages of empowerment. We are replacing the image with a different shot from the campaign, which encourages girls (and boys) everywhere to be themselves and feel pride in what makes them unique.”
The girls in the ad are part of a youth performance group called Le Petit Cirque. The founder of Le Petit Cirque, Nathalie Yves Gaulthier, made a statement explaining that the girls in the center of the photo and controversy are sisters. Gaulthier stated, “The child in the ad is not an ‘armrest,’ she’s the other girl’s little sister. They are a very close FAMILY. The child is a very young [junior] member with Le Petit Cirque, a humanitarian cirque company, and therefore a wee shyer than the more seasoned older outgoing girls. Our company is deeply saddened by some people misconstruing this as racist, and are keeping the children out if this at the moment to protect their beautiful feelings, but we are extremely supportive of dialogue in our country to move past any racial barriers. We stand by GapKids and Ellen DeGeneres.”
What are your thoughts, should GapKids have pulled the ad? You can read more on the story here.
