Acura thought it was a good idea to request black actors who “weren’t too dark” to appear in one their car commercials— until they were exposed for being discriminatory. The car company issued an apology after TMZ ran a story revealing the ridiculous race requirements, for their Super Bowl ad which featured Jerry Seinfeld, and Jay Leno.
In statement to the website, Acura explained that their intentions were never meant to insult. “We apologize to anyone offended by the language on the casting sheet used in the selection of actors for one of our commercials. We sought to cast an African-American in a prominent role in the commercial, and we made our selection based on the fact that he was the most talented actor.”
They also claim that language used in the casting sheet somehow went over their heads, but stated that they are “taking appropriate measures to ensure that such language is not used again in association with any work performed on behalf of our brand.”
With this alleged oversight, the luxury brand has joined the likes of Burger King who caught backlash for hiring Mary J. Blige to sing her love for chicken, and Abercrombie & Fitch who came under fire for using the N-word in the description for a pair of their pants, sold on a fraudulent website.
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Photo: Bossip
