Snapchat removes 'racist yellowface' filter after social media uproar

Outrage: Twitter uses slammed Snapchat for the filter
@tequilafunrise
Tom Powell11 August 2016

Snapchat has removed a “racist” filter after online uproar from thousands of users who dubbed it “yellowface”.

The lens, one of many on the vanishing photo-messaging app, contorted facial features to give users puffed out cheeks, slanted eyes and toothy grins.

But Snapchat removed the lens, designed to be a playful take on anime characters, promising it would not be making a return.

Social media users kicked up a storm, with many labelling the filter a “racist” and “disgusting” caricature of East Asians.

One user, Eugenia Lee, posted: “@snapchat created a “yellowface” filter?! How socially ignorant & racially insensitive is this.”

Another read: "Snapchat virtualized old-timey yellow face without thinking about how it effects E-Asians. It's disappointing whether it was deliberate or not."

Actress and celebrity blogger Latrice Butts added: “Snapchat This Yellow Face filter is not cool next you'll be doing Black Face & Brown Face #Stop this is not Ok!!”

In an official statement, Snapchat said: "This anime-inspired lens has already expired and won't be put back into circulation.

“Lenses are meant to be playful and never to offend.”

The app faced similar allegations of racism earlier this year for its Bob Marley filter, which added dreadlocks and darkened skin tone.

Snapchat has more than 100 million users globally after soaring to popularity with its photo messages which disappear quickly after the recipient has viewed them.

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