Johnny Depp ‘s latest advert for Dior’s Sauvage cologne has reportedly being pulled by the brand after it received backlash for being ‘racially insensitive’.
The short film, which appeared on social media accounts, was criticised for its use of Native American culture.
The video was part of a campaign for Sauvage, which Johnny has been the face of since 2015 after signing a rumoured $5million deal.
In it the Pirates of the Caribbean star is seen wearing a poncho playing guitar, while other scenes feature a Native American man performing a traditional dance and a dark-haired model with long hair appears in Native American dress.
Dior were also criticised back in 2017 for an advert released featuring Johnny with the strapline ‘wild at heart’ following news of his split with Amber Heard.
The ad, which is titled ‘We Are the Land’ and was made with Native American consultants, was deleted after the luxury fashion house faced backlash hours after being posted on Friday.
It was called out on social media for cultural misappropriation and being insensitive.
One angry person wrote: “Ad executive at Dior: “hey let’s put out a new perfume that features indigenous people and call it “Sauvage” Senior VP of Marketing: “Sound great, but how can we make it even more racist? Ad executive: Easy, we’ll say it has “oriental tones”.
Another said: “So…(scuffs toe) an actual French luxury label house actually thought it would be a good idea to advertise their mid market perfume named ‘Sauvage’ by showing an indigenous man dance in ceremonial regalia?”
“#DiorSauvage …. HOW IS THIS OK ?????? im big confused. The added u does not cancel out the racism,” fumed one.
“All the perfume in the world you create will never be enough to cover the stench and savagery of what was committed against the Indigenous People’s of these lands by your people.”
According to the Mail Online the Native American consultant, Ron ‘Looking Elk’ Martinez, who worked on the advert with Dior wrote in a now deleted Instagram post:
“Cultural appropriation for us is a huge thing because we’ve been dealing with this since colonization.
“Our presence on this project is really to help. So for us to make sure that the look and the identity is authentic is very important.”
The name of the perfume, which has been part of the company’s fragrance line since 1960, also came under scrutiny for its translation.
It has a variety of meanings, including wild, unspoiled and savage.
Depp has previously claimed to have Native American ancestry saying in an interview that his great-grandmother grew up in Cherokee and “was quite a bit of Native American”.
Others defended the advert writing: “It is not savage, it is sauvage. The old French meaning is wild and untamed. In Norman, a wild forest.
So anxious are some to be perpetually offended that you’re making life suck. Stop it!. And, if you are going to b***h at least educate yourself about the topic.”
Another added: “@Dior is being scrutinized for racially appropriating native Americans. What people forget to realize is that Johnny Depp has Native American ancestry. Sometimes people just find reasons to be mad it seems like.”
Source: The Mirror
