Snapchat removed a filter Wednesday after outraged users said online that it was racist.
The filter in question, which users said resembled “yellowface” and mirrored stereotypes of Asian faces, featured a filter with closed, slanted eyes. Snapchat told The Verge that the filter was inspired by anime and meant to be playful.
Many users took to Twitter on Tuesday to express their dismay.
Yellowface was a practice in early Hollywood films where white performers used theatrical makeup to portray people of East Asian descent, much like performers used blackface to pose as black characters.
This isn’t the first time Snapchat has been in trouble over a filter. A Bob Marley filter that posted on April 20 was taken by many to be offensive, with some calling the filter “digital blackface.”
- Here’s How Effective the Original Vaccines Are Against Omicron
- The Promise—And Possible Perils—of Editing What We Say Online
- How Trump Survived Decades of Legal Trouble: Deny, Deflect, Delay, and Don't Put Anything in Writing
- Flint Is Still Shaken by its Water Crisis—and Residents Are Experiencing Long-Term Mental-Health Issues
- A Beer Shortage Is Brewing. A Volcano Is Partly to Blame
- How Fasting Can—and Can't—Improve Gut Health
- Cities Keep Enforcing Curfews for Teens, Despite Evidence They Don't Stop Crime
- Joe Manchin’s Red Tape Reform Could Supercharge Renewable Energy in the U.S.
- Column: We Should Talk More About What a Brilliant Actor Marilyn Monroe Was
