A special effects makeup artist from Istanbul has faced backlash after posting an image of herself in blackface on Instagram, using hashtags including #slave. Percem Akin, who shared the photo as part of a Halloween tutorial, has defended the look as a movie character and denied racist intent.
The image showed Akin wearing dark foundation and face paint, along with a traditional African headscarf. The caption read: 'Color and pain. My lovely black beauty transformation make up.' Hashtags such as #slave and #sadmakeup were included, though many have since been removed after complaints.
Akin told Femail that the transformation was for a film shot in Turkey, and that the hashtag was meant to be #slayer, the movie's title, but was changed to #slave. She added: 'We are not living in America or Africa, in my country finding any black model is so difficult.'
The post went viral after being shared on Twitter, with users calling it racist and urging others to report it. One critic wrote: 'How do people still think this is OK??' Another said: 'When will these people learn that we're not f***ing costume?'
Akin, who won the NYX Face Awards in Turkey in 2017, has since deleted the original YouTube tutorial video. She expressed regret if anyone was hurt, stating: 'I never mean this as racist work. People prefer to see only racism on my work instead of pure beauty.'
