Thai actress doesn’t get it when someone points out blackface in her lipstick ad

By Coconuts Bangkok

Jun 29, 2017 | 5:25pm Bangkok time

Another day, another Thai celebrity wearing blackface.

Thai actress Usamanee “Kwan” Waitayanon was completely baffled when one commenter on Instagram pointed out that she allegedly featured blackface in the promo photo of her lipstick line.

“Why didn’t you hire a black model? Instead you put black makeup all over your body. You should know this is offensive to black people,” said user shyguitargirl1975, who appears to be a Thai woman.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV0pgYwjWiC/

In response to being called racist, the Thai actress gave the ignorant response that she had studied blackface in school, but history was history.

“I’ve studied about it [blackface], but things are different now than in history. I just want to tell women that they can be beautiful no matter what skin color,” Kwan responded.

“It’s history—an event that happened during wartime when white people restricted black people from showing their talent. So they used a white person with black makeup instead. But that’s not the message I communicate through my ad. I actually honor dark-skinned people [in the ad]. I want them to be confident.”

Well then, why didn’t she hire a black model so that history was not repeated?

“If I used a model, they may be beautiful and memorable, but not as much as me,” Kwan said.

“People remember me as a light-skinned woman who loves wearing red lipstick. I want to communicate that I can be tan and still look beautiful wearing dark lipstick,” she added.

Oh, honey.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVhI6Bgj54V/

Not content with simply justifying her actions, the actress also condemned the user who had dared to educate others about blackface.

“Having knowledge is a good thing, but you should create something useful out of your knowledge, not use your knowledge to create disharmony,” she said in an interview with Sanook, adding there’s no way she would want to offend dark-skinned people.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV12PD9D9j2/

After leaving several comments, several Kwan fans condemned Shyguitargirl1975 for being “dramatic.”

“Everyone keeps attacking me, saying this is Thailand, and it’s normal. It shouldn’t be normal!” Shyguitargirl1975 responded.

Just last month, Vogue Thailand blatantly featured a Thai model in blackface makeup meant to impersonate Grace Jones, the legendary Jamaican-American musician and actress. Last year, a Thai comedian won the “best costume” award for wearing blackface makeup. There have been several cases of Thai companies using blackface in viral marketing campaigns, and then being condemned by the international press for it.

Nevertheless, Kwan insisted that she would not pull down the ad but attempt to bring her brand “global.”

“I’ve done research in all development [of the product]. I’m bringing my brand to the global market. My products will be sold in Asia, UK, America and London.”

UK AND London? Good luck, girl.