Karlie Kloss Responds To Criticism Over Geisha Shoot For Vogue's 'Diversity' Issue

Karlie Kloss has taken to Twitter to make a formal statement in response to criticism over her latest shoot for Vogue magazine.

Vogue’s new ‘diversity’ issue for the March edition was designed to celebrate “the modern American woman” by featuring models of different ethnicities, skin tones and body types, to be inclusive of the whole spectrum rather than just the slim white girls who typically dominate the fashion industry.

But while this is all well and good, for a reason that literally no one can understand, Karlie Kloss was picked as the perfect choice for a Japanese Geisha shoot inside the magazine. WTF.

Karlie - who is very much white, American and not Japanese - was selected for the full spread photoshoot to play a Geisha, which many Vogue readers are slamming as a truly ridiculous move.

The March 2017 ‘diversity’ issue might boast the title of the first ever edition of the magazine to feature an Asian model on the cover, but as well as the decision to cast Karlie in the spread, fans have also noted that this Asian achievement was made irrelevant by Chinese model Liu Wen also having to share the space with six other models.

Luckily, Twitter was on the case to make sure that Karlie’s geisha dress-up didn’t go unnoticed.

Clearly aware of the backlash spreading like wildfire online, Karlie has now taken to Twitter to apologise for the fairly awful gaffe, agreeing that the images do “appropriate a culture that is not [her] own.”

“These images appropriate a culture that is not my own and I am truly sorry for participating in a shoot that was not culturally sensitive,” Karlie wrote.

“My goal is, and always wil be, to empower and inspire women. I will ensure my future shoots and projects reflect that mission.”

Vogue aren’t exactly alone in this mistake, which makes it even more frustrating. Similar issues involving white actresses taking on Asian roles have recently been facing huge “whitewashing” criticism over in Hollywood.

Scarlette Johansson was cast in the remake of Japanese anime, Ghost in The Shell, while Emma Stone was picked to play Allison Ng in Aloha, and Matt Damon took up the lead role in The Great Wall, set in ancient China.

There aren’t enough faces and palms in the world for this one.

Words by Lucy Wood.

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