Bryanboy reacts to racist masks and the term "Wuhan girl"
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What did Filipino fashion influencer and socialite Bryanboy say about Marie Beltrami's racist masks and her use of the term “Wuhan girl?”
Filipino fashion blogger Bryanboy, whose real name is Bryan Grey Yambao, recently called out actress and costume designer Marie Beltrami for partying with racist cut-out paper masks and using the term “Wuhan girls.”
If you think that is already despicable, wait until you read about the whole story, because it's just the tip of the iceberg.
The fashion industry recently went abuzz when French DJ and producer Michel Gaubert shared a video of a party where eight attendees can be seen holding slanted-eye masks and someone said, “The Wuhan girl.” The post has since been deleted but quick-acting netizens were able to take screenshots and reshare the video.
Marie Beltrami, who was also at the party, also shared the same video and in the caption she said, “Wuhan Girls was there?”
This is when Pinoy fashion influencer Bryanboy sprung into action and called out the racist act.
He tweeted, “'Wuhan girl?' Come (on) Michel you should know better.”
“wuhan girl”? Come in Michel you should know better pic.twitter.com/GDTt2B3yRw
-- bryanboy (@bryanboy) April 8, 2021
Aside from Bryanboy, Sussie Lau, another fashion influencer, also spoke about the racist masks in the said party.
She called the slanted-eye masks “patently racist” and considers them “an Asian version of blackface.”
DJ Michel has since issued two apologies regarding the incident. The first one explained why there were such masks in the party.
Part of DJ Michel's first apology reads: “I am extremely sorry if my previous post hurt my Asian friends over the world.
“These masks have been designed a few years ago by Marie Beltrami for Harper's Bazaar and she takes pictures of her dinner guests with them each week for the past 6 years. I took it for granted and did not realize it could be seen as racist.”
He then deleted this first apology and posted a new one. Part of it reads: “I had deleted my apology post last night as it was written too hastily when I realized what I did.
“I am extremely sorry for this lack of dignity, especially in the times we are going through now.
“Asian hate is not acceptable and I condemn it like any other hate. I have always been embracing every culture in whatever I do and I am devastated when I see what is going on in the world today. Yet I failed when I thought I could not.
“We all learn something every day and I realize it is not enough. I am committed to hold myself accountable and become a better person as I am convinced that we should all live in harmony and fight against every form of racism.”
Meanwhile, Marie Beltrami seems to remain unremorseful about having offended the Asian community.
In response to the backlash she's received for the slanted-eye masks and the term “Wuhan girls,” she sent a bizarre direct message to one user and said, “You are very racist yourself… all you need is love..”
This prompted people to do more digging about Marie and fashion watchdog group and IG account @diet_prada found a seemingly random racist post where Marie's eyes were made to look chinky and was captioned, “Once upon a Time I was a Chinese girl.”
Harper's Bazaar U.S. had already issued a statement regarding the issue and denied having knowledge of the shoot for which Marie reportedly designed the masks and cleared that they are not affiliated with the controversial dinner party.
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You might also want to read about what Asian American Hollywood celebrities have to say about the recent violent attacks on Asians in the United States.
