A boycott against fashion company Zara is gaining support on social media after South Sudanese supermodel Anok Yai exposed the retailer’s lack of response to the racism she faced at a photo shoot.
The 26-year-old trailblazing beauty said she worked with the brand in 2019, just two years after she was discovered. Yai was dubbed Vogue’s “model of the moment” after a photo of her attending Howard University’s homecoming went viral in 2017.
At the time, she was a biochemistry student at Plymouth State University. Soon after winning over millions online, she was signed to the Next Management agency and has continued to prove she is the industry’s it girl by being placed on magazine covers, and opening a Prada fashion show — a feat that only one other Black supermodel, Naomi Campbell, has done.
But in the since-deleted tread of tweets, which began with her replying to a Zara post with “Hi b—ch. Remember me?” Yai said she was “called a cockroach by a photographer.” She said there was a language barrier, but that did not prevent her from detecting a sense of ridicule from those on set.
“I remember in 2019 being called a cockroach by a photographer,” Yai said in her May 20 tweets. “It was from this brand that I used to always work with. I didn’t speak their language and they didn’t speak mine but regardless we were on set shooting look after look after look. (there were days I shot 60+ looks).”
On the second-to-last day of shooting, she recalled being powdered by a makeup artist when the photographer put down his camera and yelled, “‘Lotion la cucaracha.’ Everyone on set starts smiling and laughing.”
Supermodel Anok Yai shares heartbreaking racist incident in 2019 while working with Zara pic.twitter.com/IlP3H2R8v9
— Kambili Magazine (@KambiliMagazine) May 20, 2024
“I can’t react the way I want to react because at the end of the day, I’m young, I’m alone, I’m black … anything that I do will affect me, my family, and other black models,” she wrote, providing context as to why she withheld her reaction in the moment. Instead, she refused to go to set the following day until the photographer was removed.
After learning of the incident, a member of Zara’s team purportedly told her, “We don’t accept that type of behavior, we’ll fire him now. Tell me who he is and we’ll get rid of him.” However, when she arrived on set, “he walks by me and smiles.”
Yai said she was pulled aside by a separate team member and told, “I asked the team what happened and they said you made it up. Honestly, whenever you come here, you’re never smiling and you’e never happy to be here.” Through tears, the model explained to the staffer that she was not lying, but her words made no difference. In the end she demanded to be paid her full rate and taken to the airport.
“I remember wanting to come out with the story to magazines, but I was told, ‘Think about what it will do to your career.’ That was my first (and not only) time being blacklisted. I’m sure they thought I wasn’t strong enough to stand.” Her supporters have come out against the upscale, fast-fashion merchant, saying, “Boycott Zara.”
Anok Yai x Met Gala
#MetGala2024 pic.twitter.com/3fT8akwWvS
— IG: @darkskinwomen (@darkskinwomen_) May 7, 2024
When her story was reshared on Instagram, one comment read, “Name him and we will make sure he is cancelled!” A second reaction stated, “This is what I mean when I say these brands like to ‘look’ diverse but are actually the most racists behind cameras. It’s heartbreaking that there are still people with this mentality.” While a third Yai fan commented, “and now she at the met gala big L for Zara.”
The Coruña, Spain-founded company has not issued a statement in response to the story. A week before exposing Zara, Anok Yai captivated photographers and onlookers when she donned a blue and brown ombre full-body jumpsuit covered in 98,000 Swarovski gems to the 2024 Met Gala.
Her look has been listed as one of the most memorable of the night, which also included Hollywood A-listers.
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