Perfume brand Jo Malone apologizes to John Boyega for cutting him out of ad

Last year Star Wars star John Boyega starred in an advert for Jo Malone London that he also conceived and directed himself called, “London Gent.” Now Jo Malone is issuing an apology after it cut him completely out of the ad that ran in China. In fact, they didn’t even tell him they had reshot it. He found out via Twitter.The ad that ran in China recast Boyega with Detective Chinatown star Liu Haoran, and most egregiously, it didn’t feature a single Black person.

My Jo Malone London @JoMaloneLondon ???? pic.twitter.com/7RZ8aBdA2l

— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) October 8, 2019

“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 The Hollywood Reporter. “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 popular perfume and candle brand continued, “While we immediately took action and removed the local version of the campaign, we recognize that this was painful and that offense was caused. 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.”“London Gent” features Boyega on a film set, and then taking to the streets of Peckham, a borough on the south east side of London that is known for its multiculturalism, where he meets with friends and family. In one segment he rides a horse through a park. The spot, which was filmed and released in 2019, was so popular that it won The Fragrance Foundation Virtual Awards 2020 for Best Media Campaign. The advert that ran in China has Haoran do similar activities, including riding the horse and other shot-for-shot remakes.Boyega told Women’s Wear Daily last year that the conception of the spot came from a deeply personal place. “There’s a mixture of things you see me do in the film,” he explained, “you see me in a professional environment on a film set, then with family and it’s about breaking free of the concept of 'going back or returning to your roots' but more about the roots existing with this new side of my life. It’s not a chapter that stops.”Boyega, who was named the brand’s first male global ambassador last year, has not publicly commented on the fiasco, but he has retweeted two telltale tweets: one that called for him to be properly compensated for what they call “thievery,” saying that no apology would suffice. Another retweet contained the full video of the Chinese version, just so his fans could see side-by-side comparisons from the original and the unauthorized remake

This is the ad John Boyega came up with and directed. It is great. Now, this man needs to be properly compensated for the thievery! No apology is good enough. pic.twitter.com/QVduMN3ukJ

— ferdosa @ #TIFF20 (virtually) (she/her) (@atomicwick) September 13, 2020

.Sadly, this isn’t the first instance in Boyega’s career where anti-Black racism has reared its ugly head.  In 2015, the Chinese posters for Star Wars VII -- The Force Awakens, which heavily featured Boyega in Western posters, had noticeably reduced the size of his image. Speaking about his Star Wars character, Boyega told GQ that he was hoping for a bit more nuance.“What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a Black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side. It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up,” said Boyega.“I’m the only cast member whose character was based on their race.”[video_embed id='2033230']BEFORE YOU GO: Should Canadian schools teach about white privilege?[/video_embed]