Jo Malone London, the British perfume and scented candle brand, has apologized to their first male global ambassador John Boyega for the “offense” it caused when it reshot a personal video he made for them, that cut the actor entirely and didn’t feature a single black individual.
The new ad, made for the Chinese market, kept major elements of the script of the first, but replaced Boyega with local actor Liu Haoran (star of the hugely popular Detective Chinatown film franchise). The Hollywood Reporter understands that Boyega — who conceived and directed the first film — wasn’t made aware of the new commercial’s production, and only found out after it was put on Twitter.
“We deeply apologize for what, on our end, was a mistake in the local execution of the John Boyega campaign,” Jo Malone London said in a statement sent to THR. “John is a tremendous artist with great personal vision and direction. The concept for the film was based on John’s personal experiences and should not have been replicated.”
The company said it also apologized to Haoran, who was not involved in the “concepting” of the campaign.
“While we immediately took action and removed the local version of the campaign, we recognize that this was painful and that offense was caused,” it added. “We respect John, and support our partners and fans globally. We are taking this misstep very seriously and we are working together as a brand to do better moving forward.”
The original short — released last year and entitled London Gent — showed Boyega on the streets of his home district of Peckham in London, hanging out and dancing with real-life friends and spending time with his family, who also appear. In one scene he rides a horse in a local park while others ride bikes alongside.
Read the story in full at The Hollywood Reporter.
