Luxury brand Gucci apologized on Twitter Wednesday for a sweater that appeared to resemble blackface.
The sweater, which is no longer being sold, was a black turtleneck that could be pulled up over the bottom part of a person’s face, revealing a red lip cut out, according to The Associated Press Thursday. The sweater was worth $890 on one website.
Gucci apologizes, pulls $890 “blackface sweater” from stores after complaints https://t.co/PxqOjlvai6 pic.twitter.com/xWQTh9u6ef
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) February 7, 2019
“Gucci deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the wool balaclava jumper,” the brand tweeted Wednesday. “We consider diversity to be a fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected, and at the forefront of every decision we make.”
Gucci deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the wool balaclava jumper.
We consider diversity to be a fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected, and at the forefront of every decision we make.
Full statement below. pic.twitter.com/P2iXL9uOhs— gucci (@gucci) February 7, 2019
The Gucci apology comes as the U.S. faces controversies related to blackface in recent days.
Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam is under fire for a yearbook picture that shows one person in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan costume. While Virginia Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring also admitted to wearing blackface at a college party in 1980 on Wednesday. (RELATED: Big-Name Democrats Call On Northam To Resign Following Racist Yearbook Photo Controversy)
Kering Group, which manages Gucci, did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for further comment.
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