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PA Media
British perfume brand Jo Malone Lund has apologized to John Boyega for dropping an ad he made for her and replacing it with a Chinese actor.
Last year, Boyega was named the company’s first male global ambassador.
The firm re-shot the personal video of the Star Wars actor in his hometown of London, for the Chinese markets.
“We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the local implementation of the John Boyega campaign,” he said in a statement.
Boyega’s sister Grace posted a Chinese version of the ad In response to a Twitter.
Joe Malone London, owned by Tee Stee Ludder, said the ad re-shoot was a “mistake”, “painful” and one that was the reason for the “crime”.
While the script for the aftershave commercial – originally conceived and directed by a British star – remained largely the same, it was replaced by another actor, Liu Haoran.
The original version, called the London Ghent, was seen in Bokega with friends and family in Peckham, where he grew up, but they were also removed for the Chinese audience.
‘We are taking this mistake very seriously’
In a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Joe Malone told Lund: “John is a terrific artist with great personal vision and direction. The concept for the film was based on John’s personal experiences and should not be copied.
“When we took immediate action and removed the local version of the campaign, we recognized that it was painful and a crime.”
“We respect John, and support our partners and fans globally. We are taking this mistake very seriously and we are working together as a brand to move forward.”
Both John Boyega and Jo Malone London have been contacted by the BBC to comment.
Joe Malone sold his business to Estelladder in 1995 and remained as creative director until 2006 when he left. Now he owns Joe Loves.
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This is not the first time Boyega has lost ground in the Chinese market.
The controversy erupted back in 2016 when Disney unveiled a remastered movie poster for Star Wars: The Force Awareness in China.
Boyega’s new main character shrunk in fin size compared to the original poster.
Earlier this month, the star was asked by film companies to put an end to the fact that black actors would be “pushed aside”.
Writers, actors and directors; He also praised the 28-year-old for his emotional speech at the Black Lives Matter protests over the summer, including Rowling and Jordan Peel.
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