“Star Wars” star John Boyega — he’s played Finn in the last three movies– is angry with cosmetics company Jo Malone, and I don’t blame him. He’s stopped being their brand ambassador for men after one year. The reason? Jo Malone replaced the black people in a short film Boyega made with Chinese people for release in China. They took the black people out.
They don’t sound very smart. They didn’t even tell him. He found out about it on social media. Are these people daft?
Boyega wrote on Twitter:
“I have decided to step down as Jo Malone’s global ambassador. When I joined the brand as their first male global ambassador last year, I created the short film we used to launch the campaign. It won the Fragrance Foundation Virtual awards 2020 for Best Media Campaign.
“Their decision to replace my campaign in China by using my concepts and substituting a local brand ambassador for me, without either my consent or prior notice, was wrong. The film celebrated my personal story– showcasing my hometown, including my friends and featuring my family.
While many brands understandably use a variety of global and local ambassadors , dismissively trading out one’s culture this way is not something I can condone.
It’s back to back but I assure you this will be dealt with swiftly. I don’t have time for nonsense. We press on and strong. Stay blessed people”
Jo Malone is expensive, high end stuff. You’d think they’d be smarter than messing with a Jedi. They deserve a time out, for sure, a nice little boycott, I think.
The company, too late, apologized: “We deeply apologise for what on our end was a mistake in the local execution of the John Boyega campaign. John is a tremendous artist with great personal vision and direction. The concept for the film was based on John’s personal experiences and should not have been replicated.”
Here’s a video from YouTube of Boyega’s film and the Jo Malone Chinese altered version:
