John Boyega steps down as Jo Malone's Ambassador
Star Wars actor John Boyega has stepped down as an ambassador for the fragrance brand, Jo Malone London, owned by US-based Estée Lauder, after the company cut him out of the Chinese version of an advert he directed.
Jo Malone, which was sold by its eponymous creator two decades ago, took on Boyega last year as its first male global ambassador and issued an advertisement entitled London Gent in which he spends time in Peckham, South London, where he grew up.
The company subsequently issued a reshot version of the advert featuring the Chinese actor Liu Haoran, and no black actors, for the Chinese market, prompting an outcry on social media.
Boyega said Jo Malone's decision to replace his campaign in China by using his concepts and substituting a local brand ambassador for him, without either his consent or prior notice, was wrong.
Boyega, whose parents moved to the UK from Nigeria, is a vocal anti-racism campaigner.
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