April 27, 2023
Shein Uses Black Model’s Photo Without Consent And Whitewashes Her Face
Shein is allegedly at it again with the Photoshop shenanigans.
Black lifestyle blogger Dominique A. is not happy with the Chinese online fast fashion retailer after it allegedly stole a photo of her and photoshopped it to make her appear more fair-skinned with European features.
The blogger posted a video to her TikTok page showing followers the photo Shein posted to its site. According to details in the video, the retailer used the image for a product labeled “Clip In Extra Straight Synthetic Hair Extensions.”
“This is not my face,” Dominique said in the video questioning the retailer.
The blogger, who has amassed more than 300,000 views on her first video, posted a follow-up video showing her original photo compared to Shein’s edited version. The most recent video shows Dominique wearing the natural, straight hairstyle and elegantly posed in a tan bodycon dress, which has garnered almost one million views.
In the video, she explained, “So this is the original photo that I took. So, why? Why, Shein? Why?” Unhappy with the company’s actions, she concluded the video demanding, “Do me a favor and remove the f***ing photo.”
@dominiqueaofficial I need Answers @SHEIN #greenscreen #shein #sheinclothing #scammers #fyp #fypシ #dominiquea #photoshop #business #badbusiness #influencer #hairinfluencer #hairguru
Dominique clarified and called out the company for allegedly stealing the photo of her. “@SHEIN, why would you steal and photoshop my content?!?” she wrote in the caption, tagging the company’s TikTok page.
Hip-hop organizer and consultant Khafre Jay also posted a message to LinkedIn calling for others to help raise awareness about the issue.
“THIS MUST NOT BE OK. RACIST BUSINESSES MUST BE 🛑,” he wrote. “Y’all are cold-hearted people for doing her like this. The practice of companies like SHEIN photoshopping #BlackModels to appear whiter is a blatant act of racist B.S., and we all know it perpetuates and upholds #whitesupremacist beauty standards.”
“We must unite to denounce these harmful practices and even problematic people and hold #companies like Shein accountable for their racist actions,” he continued, reposting Dominique’s video underneath his message with a call to action urging others not to ignore this issue.