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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Saturday 9 February 2019

Director Spike Lee boycotts Gucci, Prada for blackface items

By COLLEEN BARRY lous and mocking fashion. tural appropriation screw
AP Fashion Writer Blackface hasn’t been ups.” “So, you need to see it
MILAN (AP) — Director the only fashion faux pas across the map. So not only
Spike Lee said Friday he will in recent memory. Dolce in the boardroom. On the
no longer wear Gucci or & Gabbana faced a boy- runway, even in street-style
Prada until the brands hire cott in China — the luxury photography, not photo-
some black designers fol- world’s number one market graphing women that are
lowing a pair of blackface by a long shot — after one only homogenous in looks,
fashion fails from the major of its designers insulted Chi- you need diversity as well.
Italian fashion houses. nese people in a private In every aspect,” she said.
Lee said on Instagram that chat over promotional vid- While design houses have
“It’s Obvious To Da Peo- eos featuring a Chinese creative directors whose
ples That They Don’t Have model struggling to eat Ital- put their faces on the col-
A Clue When It Comes To ian food with chopsticks, lections — Alessandro Mi-
Racist, Blackface Hateful which was seen as cultur- chele at Gucci and Miuc-
Imagery. WAKE UP.” ally insensitive. cia Prada at her brand
Spike said the brands Spike Lee poses for a portrait at the 91st Academy Awards Commenting on the con- — they work with consider-
needed to have black de- Nominees Luncheon at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Monday, troversies during New York able design teams behind
signers “To Be In Da Room Feb. 4, 2019, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Fashion Week, model Cipri- the scenes.
When It Happen.” Associated Press ana Quann said the of- Also in New York, Japanese-
His personal boycott in the wool sweater that featured time when the governor fending designs suggested American designer Tadashi
midst of movie awards sea- bright red lips when pulled of Virginia and his attorney a lack of diversity within the Shoji said that the brands
son was a powerful mes- over the face, while Prada general have been caught companies, not just in the appeared to be lacking in
sage to luxury fashion hous- apologized for a monkey up in a scandal over black- design studios but also the cultural sensitivity.
es that are already suffer- bag charm resembling face incidents from their board rooms and on the “What are they thinking
ing backlashes for designs blackface in December. college days in the 1980s. runways. as a designer in the busi-
evoking racist images. Both brands withdrew the The offensive depictions “When the company is not ness? That is what puzzles
Lee donned Gucci on the offending pieces from are reminiscent of traveling diverse, so they’re not in- me. If you think about this
Venice Film Festival red sale on both websites and minstrels from the 19th cen- clusive,” the model said. simple, simple stuff, offend-
carpet last September, fol- stores. Prada said it “abhors tury, who would paint their “So, the more diverse your ing these customers, I think
lowing up with a stop by all forms of racism,” while faces black to portray Afri- company, the more you’ll it’s not good for business,”
the Prada womenswear Gucci called it “a power- can characters in a ridicu- be able to catch those cul- Shoji said Thursday night.q
preview show in Milan later ful learning moment for the
in the month decked out in Gucci team and beyond.”
a black Prada suit. The blackface images Michael Jackson’s estate assails
Gucci this week apolo- have particular resonance
HBO plans for documentary
gized for a high-neck black in the United States at a

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mi-
chael Jackson’s estate is
calling HBO’s decision to
air a documentary that in-
cludes allegations from two
men that the superstar mo-
lested them “disgraceful”
and is urging the cable net-
work to further investigate
their backgrounds.
The 10-page letter released
Friday offers a meeting with
HBO executives to try to dis-
credit the stories of the two In this Jan. 24, 2019, file photo Wade Robson, from left, director
men featured in the docu- Dan Reed and James Safechuck pose for a portrait to promote
mentary “Leaving Never- the film “Leaving Neverland” at the Salesforce Music Lodge
land,” Wade Robson and during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
James Safechuck. The es- Associated Press
tate contends the men are work on a Jackson-themed fully documented these
lying and court filings and Cirque du Soleil show and survivors’ accounts. People
story inconsistencies prove raised the molestation alle- should reserve judgment
that. gations only after he wasn’t until they see the film.”
The letter, written by es- hired. The first installment of Both Robson and Safe-
tate attorney Howard the four-hour documentary chuck both alleged they
Weitzman, assails the will first air on HBO on March were molested and unsuc-
documentary for focus- 3, with the second half air- cessfully sued Jackson’s es-
ing solely on Robson and ing the following night. HBO tate after the singer’s June
Safechuck’s stories and not said in a statement after the 2009 death. Robson testi-
interviewing anyone from letter’s release: “Our plans fied in Jackson’s defense at
Jackson’s family, his estate remain unchanged. ... Dan a 2005 molestation trial that
or others who knew him. It Reed is an award-winning ended with the singer’s
states Robson had sought filmmaker who has care- acquittal.q