Gigi Hadid’s New Versace Ads Are Being Called Out For Being Racist

Versace’s latest ad campaign, featuring Gigi Hadid, has just landed and it’s ruffled more than a few feathers.

The brand shared an image from the new campaign on Instagram yesterday which showed Gigi playing mum to a multiracial family. The reason people are fuming over the seemingly innocent pic? Because there’s a chain around the baby’s buggy.

Versace is proud to present its Fall/Winter 2016 campaign shot by Bruce Weber. The campaign stars Gigi Hadid, Karlie Kloss and Dilone in a series of tableaux, some real-life and some fantastical. The combination perfectly illustrates the relevance and wearability of modern #Versace for all parts of one’s life, from the ultra-glamourous to the everyday. Photo: @Bruce_Weber Art Director: Sam Shahid Women Talent: @GigiHadid @KarlieKloss Man Talent: Marcus Watts Women’s Stylist: @kjeldgaard1 Men’s Stylist: David Bradshaw Make up: @GucciWestman Hair: @OrlandoPita

A photo posted by Versace (@versace_official) on Jun 5, 2016 at 9:57am PDT

“Racist image alert. Black baby in chains,” reads one comment on the pic.

“When slavery wasn’t enough for you so you put a chain on an African baby,” reads another.

Another Instagram user dubbed the campaign “white-washing at it’s finest”, while countless others said the brand should “be ashamed”, seeing the image as a racial attack.

Still, there were others who claimed the outcry was completely unjustified.

One comment reads that “people love to find any little thing to get offended over,” while other commenters pointed out that Versace often use chains in their campaign imagery.

What do you think? Are the accusations of racism a justified response to the new campaign?

Tags:

• Gigi Hadid

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