John Boyega quits perfume ambassador role over Chinese ad

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FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2015 file photo, actor John Boyega, right, pose with Star Wars characters during the Japan Premiere of their latest film "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in Tokyo. Black actor John Boyega has stepped down from his role as a global ambassador for perfume brand Jo Malone, according to his Twitter announcement Tuesday Sept. 15, 2020, after the company decided to hire a Chinese actor to replace him in an ad he created. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)

LONDON ā€“ Black actor John Boyega has stepped down from his role as a global ambassador for perfume brand Jo Malone after the company decided to hire a Chinese actor to replace him in an ad he created.

The ā€œStar Warsā€ star wrote Tuesday on Twitter that the brandā€™s decision to ā€œreplace my campaign in China by using my concepts and substituting a local brand ambassador for me, without either my consent or prior notice, was wrong.ā€

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Jo Malone, an upscale British perfume brand owned by EstƩe Lauder, has said that replacing Boyega with Chinese star Liu Haoran in the ad campaign was a misstep. It has removed the ad and apologized.

The original ad starring Boyega, 28, aired last year and was called ā€œThe London Gent.ā€ It features the London-born actor walking around the neighborhood where he grew up and riding a horse in a park, and it makes a reference to his Nigerian heritage in a scene featuring West African attire.

ā€œThe film celebrated my personal story ā€” showcasing my hometown, including my friends and featuring my family,ā€ Boyega wrote. ā€œWhile many brands understandably use a variety of global and local ambassadors, dismissively trading out oneā€™s culture this way is not something I can condone.ā€

Itā€™s not the first time Boyega has been deleted from a China-based ad. He played a leading role as Finn in 2015ā€²s ā€œStar Wars: The Force Awakens,ā€ but he and other non-white characters were removed or diminished from a Chinese poster for the blockbuster movie.

Boyega recently told GQ that Black characters have been ā€œpushed to the sideā€ in Disneyā€™s ā€œStar Warsā€ franchise. In June, the star made an emotional speech on racism when he joined Black Lives Matter protests in London.

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