Forever 21 apologises for advertising Black Panther sweater with white model

Some social media users were "highly offended" by a recent Forever 21 ad.

Forever 21 was slammed on social media.

Forever 21 was slammed on social media. Source: Twitter, AAP

Fashion chain Forever 21 has apologised after advertising a Black Panther-inspired sweater using a white model.

In an ad shared on its social media, the white model wears a sweater that features the Black Panther logo with the words "Wakanda Forever".
Wakanda is a fictional sub-Saharan African country from the high-grossing Marvel film.

The ad generated backlash on social media this week and was later deleted from the chain's Twitter account.
While some on social media poked fun at the ad, saying that "not even Wakanda can escape gentrification".
In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, Forever 21 said it "takes feedback on our products and marketing extremely seriously".
"We celebrate all superheroes with many different models of various ethnicities and apologise if the photo in question was offensive in any way."

Black Panther was the first Marvel film to feature a predominantly black cast.


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