WPP-owned PR agency OPR and Who magazine have come under fire after mistakenly publishing a photo of another model in an interview with Adut Akech, which ironically was about race and identity.
OPR was the agency of record liasing with Who on behalf of Melbourne Fashion Week, which Akech was in Australia as an ambassador for.
In a photo bungle, OPR sent Who a file of images to go alongside Akech’s interview, except the photos weren’t just of Akech but rather of model Flavia Lazarus, and other MFW models.
Akech took to Instagram to air her thoughts on the issue and while she said Who had “apologised to her directly” about the error, she felt the need to speak up about the incident and how “unacceptable and inexcusable” the situation was.
She wrote: “Not only do I personally feel insulted and disrespected but I feel like my entire race has been disrespected too and it is why I feel it is important that I address this issue,” adding the photo “defeated the purpose of what [she] stand[s] for.”
The model also said the stuff-up showed how “people are very ignorant and narrow-minded” in thinking “every black girl or African people looks the same.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1lk21lhek_/
Writing the bungle should be a “wake-up call” to the media industry, Akech went on to say it wasn’t the first time this has happened, adding “that this doesn’t happen with white models.”
In a statement to B&T, OPR said: “Regardless of where the administrative error was made, we sincerely regret any upset it has caused to the models involved, and our client the City of Melbourne.”
Who magazine also apologised for the incorrect image.
“Who spoke directly with Adut to explain how the error occurred and have sincerely apologised,” a spokesperson said.
“We also apologise to Flavia Lazarus for the misprint.”
The magazine said it was trying to share Akech’s “inspiring story and highlight her achievements”, and that it’s “committed to increasing the diversity in the pages of Who, and arranged the interview in view of this.
“Hopefully the result of our misprint will be more people talking about this issue in the industry and tackling it head-on.”
