--- title: Model Featured in Dove's Controversial Ad Speaks Out description: She said he was unaware of what the final cut of the commercial would be canonical: https://time.com/4977255/dove-controversial-ad-model-lola-ogunyemi/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-11T04:06:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:47:54.954Z og:title: Model Featured in Dove's Controversial Ad Speaks Out og:description: Lola Ogunyemi said she didn't know what the final cut of the commercial would be og:url: https://time.com/4977255/dove-controversial-ad-model-lola-ogunyemi/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb90cd2cadb5493c0/6988e16a0a4a22e1309d043f/gettyimages-92981314.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3599 og:image:height: 2024 og:image:alt: Sainsbury's Supermarket Ahead Of Their Earnings og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Model Featured in Dove's Controversial Ad Speaks Out twitter:description: Lola Ogunyemi said she didn't know what the final cut of the commercial would be twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb90cd2cadb5493c0/6988e16a0a4a22e1309d043f/gettyimages-92981314.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'I’m Not Just Some Silent Victim.' The Model Featured in Dove's Controversial Ad Speaks Out > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=fcab13e5-b130-4d0f-a806-382e85f5e371&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) by [Karen Mizoguchi / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Karen Mizoguchi / People Contributor Oct 11, 2017 4:06 AM UTC  Dove soap at a supermarket in London, U.K., on Nov. 10, 2009. Dove soap at a supermarket in London, U.K., on Nov. 10, 2009. Chris Ratcliffe—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Karen Mizoguchi / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Karen Mizoguchi / People Contributor Oct 11, 2017 4:06 AM UTC Earlier this month, Dove drew backlash for a [commercial](http://time.com/4974075/dove-apology-racist-ad/) it posted (and has since pulled) of a black woman taking off her brown shirt and revealing a white woman wearing a beige shirt underneath. Now, Lola Ogunyemi, who was featured in the ad, is speaking out against racism in the beauty industry in an essay she penned for [_The Guardian_](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/10/i-am-woman-racist-dove-ad-not-a-victim). “I am a Nigerian woman, born in London and raised in Atlanta. I’ve grown up very aware of society’s opinion that dark-skinned people, especially women, would look better if our skin were lighter,” Ogunyemi began her piece. Aware of this “repressive narrative,” she signed on for Dove’s campaign when the company offered her the opportunity to be one of the faces of its new body wash ad. “Having the opportunity to represent my dark-skinned sisters in a global beauty brand felt like the perfect way for me to remind the world that we are here, we are beautiful, and more importantly, we are valued,” Ogunyemi said. She also explained how she was unaware of what the final cut of the commercial would be. Otherwise, she would not have been a part of the campaign at all. “Then one morning, I woke up to a message from a friend asking if the woman in a post he’d seen was really me. I went online and discovered I had become the unwitting poster child for racist advertising. No lie,” Ogunyemi wrote. “If you Google ‘racist ad’ right now, a picture of my face is the first result.” Adding, “If I had even the slightest inclination that I would be portrayed as inferior, or as the ‘before’ in a before and after shot, I would have been the first to say an emphatic ‘no’. I would have (un)happily walked right off set and out of the door. That is something that goes against everything I stand for.” **Read More:** [_Dove’s ‘Racist’ Ad Isn’t the First Time the Company Was Criticized for Being Offensive_](http://time.com/4974452/dove-ad-facebook-racist/) Though Ogunyemi did not agree with the controversial ad, she did have a “positive” experience working with Dove. “I had an amazing time on set. All of the women in the shoot understood the concept and overarching objective – to use our differences to highlight the fact that all skin deserves gentleness,” she recalled. “I remember all of us being excited at the idea of wearing nude T-shirts and turning into one another. We weren’t sure how the final edit was going to look, nor which of us would actually be featured in it, but everyone seemed to be in great spirits during filming, including me,” she said. Dove has since released a statement, apologizing for the short video. “An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offense it caused,” the company tweeted. > [](https://twitter.com/Dove/status/916731793927278592) > [](https://twitter.com/Dove/status/917444642047778816) “While I agree with Dove’s response to unequivocally apologize for any offense caused, they could have also defended their creative vision, and their choice to include me, an unequivocally dark-skinned black woman, as a face of their campaign. I am not just some silent victim of a mistaken beauty campaign. I am strong, I am beautiful, and I will not be erased,” Ogunyemi concluded her essay. _This_ [_article_](http://people.com/bodies/lola-ogunyemi-racist-dove-ad-speaks-out-im-not-silent-victim-of-mistaken-beauty-campaign/) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://people.com)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4977255/dove-controversial-ad-model-lola-ogunyemi/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4977255/dove-controversial-ad-model-lola-ogunyemi/"},"headline":"'I’m Not Just Some Silent Victim.' 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