by Imani Carroll
An Italian cosmetics company is in deep trouble for the racist name of their nail polish called “Thick as a N*gga”. Consumers are outraged and call for an apology and a removal of the polish.
According to “This Nail Polish Brand Is Under Fire for Its Racist Shade Name” by Danielle Gray published on Allure’s website, the company also lacks a diverse representation for women of color. The author of believes “brands are using racial insensitivity as a marketing ploy.”
Senior, Briaunna Embrey-Banks agrees, saying that it was all a publicity stunt: “[No one was] talking about [the] nail polish… [suddenly], they use the ‘N’ word, all of a sudden we are having this conversation.” She asked, “why else would [they] do it” other than for money and popularity.
The company Wycon Cosmetics apologizes saying that they are “deeply sorry” and they “admit [their] serious mistake.” However, many people really believe the apology was too late, and bogus.
One twitter user, @mmarziapan complains that it “took [them] a week to post [the apology]?” Another user, @sukisuzuki006, asked how they even agreed that the name was a good idea.
Junior Mariah Carter said that the title of the polish “makes [her] feel uncomfortable.” Sophomore Helena Blanco feels we should take a stance by “[protesting] against the company… to get the nail polish removed.”
Senior Joshua Pitts said that the situation is “pretty messed up” because he feels that the company simply could’ve “[used] a color to represent [the] color of the nail polish.”
The backlash the company received was nothing like the H&M scandal that occurred earlier this year. H&M was under fire for the “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” sweatshirt. Most likely because it is a more well known company, and Wycon Cosmetics is not as well known. At this point, the attempt at a publicity stunt turned out to be a flop, and the company lost more customers than they tried to gain.