Model Anok Yai recounts racial encounter with fashion brand
Supermodel Anok Yai shares heartbreaking racist incident in 2019 while working with Zara pic.twitter.com/IlP3H2R8v9
- Kambili Magazine (@KambiliMagazine) May 20, 2024
In a series of now deleted tweets, the Sudanese model shared an experience in the beginnings of her career in 2019.
She remembers being called a cockroach by a photographer but since the photographer and the staff would speak only in Spanish, she would not understand the bulk of the conversations around her that made fun of her. According to Yai, on the second-to-last day of a multi-day photoshoot, the photographer referred to her as "la cucaracha" (Spanish for cockroach), at which point, "Everyone on set starts smiling and laughing."
The next day, someone from the team reached her to tell her that they asked to staff members if Yai’s claims were true, but everyone denied the events actually happening, so she refused to return on set. She was also recommended to not make waves regarding the incident, since it could affect her career.
At the end of the thread, she revealed the involved brand, Spanish retailer, Zara.
In a series of since-deleted tweets, the supermodel alleged that a photographer called her "a cockroach" during a photoshoot for the Spanish retailer in 2019. https://t.co/v0LGZfNK4b
- Fashionista.com (@Fashionista_com) May 20, 2024
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