A new edition of shoes designed by pop star Katy Perry are reportedly going to be taken off the market because they resemble, at least to some shoppers, blackface.
“In order to be respectful and sensitive the team is in the process of pulling the shoes,” someone close to Katy Perry told TMZ. The shoes were previously being marketed at Walmart and other stores.
The shoes, which depict a blue-eyed face on top of black material, apparently imitate blackface.
Blackface scandals have engulfed American politics and pop culture in recent weeks. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D-VA) recently admitted to wearing blackface to imitate Michael Jackson after a photo from his medical school yearbook emerged depicting a man in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan outfit.
Fashion brands Gucci and Prada, as well as the classic movie Mary Poppins have all been targeted recently for allegedly using offensive blackface imagery, too. Director Spike Lee said he will boycott Gucci and Prada afters the former recalled a sweater that looked like blackface.ss
Perry, for her part, has made headlines over racial insensitivity before. Throughout her career, the “Firework” singer has repeatedly been accused of “cultural appropriation.”
Despite her critics on the social justice left, the 34-year-old has consistently shown solidarity with their causes.
In a recent interview, Perry said that she had a dartboard with President Trump on it in her house for stress relief.
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