The Chinese firm responsible for that ridiculously ill-advised advert which showed a black man being washed into an Asian man, has said critics are "too sensitive".
A company representative from Shanghai Leishang Cosmetics named Mr Wang - which isn't a funny name in China - told The Global Times the media in general had overreacted at the idea of racial discrimination as it apparently wasn't the intention during the production of the advert.
Still, in spite of the comments, Leishang Cosmetics issued an apology and withdrew the advert.
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"We express regret that the ad should have caused a controversy," a statement issued yesterday said.
"But we will not shun responsibility for controversial content.
"We express our apology for the harm caused to the African people because of the spread of the ad and the over-amplification by the media.
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"We sincerely hope the public and the media will not over-read it."
It's a little too late to act surprised, isn't it? But I suppose it's worth a shot.
In case you missed it, the advert for Qiaobi laundry detergent drops tells the short tale of a black guy entering a room and trying to flirt with an Asian woman, who then puts a detergent drop into his mouth before mercilessly shoving his body into a top-loading washer. After the cycle, a light-skinned Asian man appears from the machine much to the delight of the woman.
It's hardly beating around the fucking bush.
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Words by Josh Teal
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