There are some things that are bad to be: late for an important meeting; forgetful of your anniversary; on the wrong side of a submarine door; white.
So thinks Forever 21, which apologized after featuring a “Wakanda Forever” sweater on its site, modeled by one of the terrible things above. I’ll let you guess which.
Wakanda, of course, is a fictitious land shown in the movie Black Panther.
That’s right — the company got in trouble by The Woke over a place that doesn’t actually exist.
This reminds me of (white person) Lena Dunham’s loudly-professed shame over there being (wholly unrelated to her decisions) a white person shown modeling her clothing line on the web (visit that wackiness here).
For those of you who haven’t seen the film, our story’s hero hails from Wakanda.
Here’s what I don’t understand: so American social justice warriors want companies — comprised, in most cases, by white people (because white people comprise 77% of the populace) to promote things related to black people, like sweaters championing a fictitious black city. So the white people are supposed to design the sweater. Make the sweater. Take photos of the sweater. Post those photos online. Market the sweater. Sell the sweater. Enable the success of the sweater, because it praises the make-believe place where make-believe characters live. Yet the one thing the white people can’t do is actually wear the sweater? How can it, then, even be much of a success? Black people make up 13% of the U.S. The woke sweater needs non-black people to buy it.
Oh, and there’s also this: Who gives a $#%*@!? about the race of someone who’s wearing a sweater on the Forever 21 site?
Maybe you have a better understanding. I await it, in the Comments section.
In the meantime, here are some other people’s understanding:
Hey @Forever21, In What Universe Did You Think It Was Ok To Feature A White Model In Wakanda Gear? Granted, Chances Are You Knew It Wasn't Ok, But Still. As A Former #21Men Brand Specialist For The Company, I'm Highly Offended.
— Mark-Paul (@WhoIsMarkPaul) December 18, 2018
Wow Forever 21 is tone deaf af. Colonizers aren't praised in Wakanda. Try again.
— Iyesha Riley (@Iyeshalovette) December 18, 2018
this sweater just called 311 because Shuri's making too much noise in her lab pic.twitter.com/Npd7nxwhJP
— Desus Nice (@desusnice) December 18, 2018
It's sad that people actually believe being "color blind" is positive. There is a reason why you have different colors in a crayon box. If all colors were one the richness of other images would not be seen. That robs ppl of seeing the Beauty in differnt colors and cultures.
— Jullian (@Jullian_Goodin) December 19, 2018
One user raged against the (outrage) machine:
Well I guess I will throw away all my black panther stuff. Going right now and tell my black neighbors kid he cant dress up as thor for next Halloween. I will be insulted if he does that
— S.L.L (@scottleckelt) December 19, 2018
At least one guy realized that the Black Panther character was created by two white guys, Stan Lee (here) and Jack Kirby:
You know two white men Stan Lee and Jack Kirby came up with and made Black Panther. So I’m pretty sure I’d white people invented it then it’s okay if white people wear it.
— Papa Grande (@GrantW1285) December 19, 2018
But that got swatted away:
But it represents the African culture, why not give the African people some spotlight? It would be a nice gesture
— . (@AfToxic) December 19, 2018
One person noted that white people “get everything in life”:
How about give black people equal opportunities in life? lol white people get everything in life, they have it so much easier then everyone else, give someone else the spotlight…
— . (@AfToxic) December 19, 2018
In my opinion, this was perhaps the best point:
Everybody crying about the race of the model. I'm more concerned over who would pay $35 for this horrible sweater?
— RM (@Photogger) December 19, 2018
Here’s Forever 21’s apology, courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter:
We celebrate all superheroes with many different models of various ethnicities and apologize if the photo in question was offensive in any way.
Forever 21 takes feedback on our products and marketing extremely seriously. We celebrate all superheroes with many different models of various ethnicities and apologize if the photo in question was offensive in any way.
I’m waiting for you in the Comments section.
As for Forever 21’s blackness, the company was founded by Do Won Chang and Jin Sook Chang.
-Alex
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The post Under Fire from The Woke, Forever 21 Apologizes for Letting a White Person Model a Wakanda Sweater appeared first on RedState.