An ad campaign by a Dunkin Donut franchise in Thailand is roundly being criticized for its use of blackface to advertise its new “charcoal donut,” reports the Latin Times.
The group Human Rights Watch says “it’s both bizarre and racist that Dunkin’ Donuts thinks that it must color a woman’s skin black and accentuate her lips with bright pink lipstick to sell a chocolate doughnut,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch.
Duncan Donuts says its working with its franchisee to remove the ad, but it appears there’s still a lot of talking to be done.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” said CEO Nadim Salhani of Duncan Donuts in Thailand. “We’re not allowed to use black to promote our doughnuts? I don’t get it. What’s the big fuss? What if the product was white and I painted someone white, would that be racist?”
You can read how folks in Thailand are reacting to this ad in the Latin Times,
