Watsons Malaysia just released their latest promotional video, and it certainly is one of epic proportions.
The 14 minute-long Facebook video follows the story of a prince who constantly dreams of a sweet, lovely voice. One day, he decided to go on a search for the source of the mysterious voice by holding an audition.
Source: Facebook
He holds the audition to find the Legenda Cun Raya. Although he managed to gather the most beautiful women in all the land, none of them could sing.
However, one of the women was an exception.
The woman in question wore a veil covering her face. She had the exact melodious voice that the prince was dreaming of, but when he asked her to take her veil off so he could see her face, he had the shock of his life. Why, you ask?
It turns out the woman’s face was pitch-black.
Tip: fast-forward to 9:30 and wait for it.
However, it was later revealed that the woman actually painted her face black as a ‘test’, hence implying that having dark skin is ugly and undesirable.
In the video, she also tells the prince that she had washed her face, that’s why she is not dark any more; in fact, she’s flawless. The prince then proceeds to propose to her (Cinderella style and all), while asking if her feet was dark too and if she had washed them as well. *Gasp*
Source: Facebook
Understandably, many Malaysians were outraged at this blatant and racist act of Blackface, a form of stage makeup white actors used to apply to parody Africans and other dark-skinned people.
In modern times, this act is considered very racist and insulting to those with darker skin.
Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook
We hope that Watsons Malaysia addresses this controversial issue asap!
Plus, with Hari Raya approaching soon, the last thing we’d want is to watch a video that’ll make us feel bad about the skin tone we’re born with!
Also read: VIRAL Singaporean Shares Frustrating Experience with Racism and Stereotype During Audition
