14 DAY TRIAL // The latest issue of AnOther Magazine brings several covers with Michelle Williams in various characters. One of them happens to be Native American-inspired, drawing plenty of criticism for being racist.
In the photo, the Oscar-winning actress is shown with long, dark, straight hair braided on the sides, and feathers in it. You will find it attached to this article as well.
In a statement to Yahoo! News, the bi-annual British fashion magazine denies any racist subtext to putting Michelle in “redface,” stressing that whoever sees racism is the one with the problem because all they thought when they came up with the idea was “fashion.”
The actress was just playing a character and that was all there was to the controversial photo, the statement stresses.
“While we recognize the seriousness of this debate, the image in question in no way intends to mimic, trivialize or stereotype any particular ethnic group or culture, as recent reports suggest,” a spokesperson for the magazine says.
The image of Michelle that caused the most offense was, just like the other 7 featured on alternate covers, an imaginary character she was playing, a character inspired by “fashion and cultural references.”
In other words, with it, the mag wasn’t mocking an image (of the Native Americans) but rather paying tribute to it.
“All the characters in the story were inspired by multiple fashion and cultural references, characters and eras, as well as by our admiration of Ms. Williams as one of the most respected and talented actresses of her generation,” the statement says.
“While we dispute the suggestion that the image has a racist subtext in the strongest possible terms, we're mortified to think that anyone would interpret it in this way,” it adds.
As expected, Michelle did not address the controversy that started shortly after the magazine came out. Considering how private she is about most things, chances are she never will.