Woman in ‘racist’ Dove advert speaks out

The black woman who appeared in Dove’s “racist” Facebook ad has spoken out.

Lola Ogunyemi revealed that she had “no idea” she would be thrust into the heart of a racial debate when she agreed to be the face of the brand’s new body wash.

The advert featured Ogunyemi taking off a T-shirt and being replaced by a white woman after using the product.

Writing for The Guardian, the Nigerian, London-born model saw the campaign as an opportunity to promote racial diversity within the beauty industry.

Ogunyemi explained that it was precisely because the beauty industry has repeatedly reinforced the narrative of dark being dirty and white being clean that she wanted to take part in the Dove campaign.

She was upset to find herself in the midst of a furore when the 30-second clip sparked such outrage, after critics accused the brand of “whitewashing,” citing Ogunyemi’s “transformation” into a white woman as discriminatory.

Ogunyemi wrote that she would never have agreed to front the brand’s campaign if she knew that her inclusion in the video would be perceived as “inferior” and insisted that her experience with the Dove team was wholly positive, praising the women on the shoot for their expertise and understanding.

“I remember all of us being excited at the idea of wearing nude T-shirts and turning into one another,” she wrote.

She believes that the vitriolic response to the ad is a lesson in how society views marginalised women and explained that she can understand how the viral stills taken from the ad, which was quickly removed from the web, can easily be misconstrued.

“A lot has been left out,” she said.

“The narrative has been written without giving consumers context on which to base an informed opinion.”

Determined not to be perceived as “some silent victim of a mistaken beauty campaign,” Ogunyemi believes that Dove could have defended their vision behind the video rather than just taking it down and apologising.