Recently, Bollywood celebrities, including Priyanka Chopra are being called out for endorsing fairness creams. They’re coming under fire for displaying a bias against dark skin and being hypocritical by showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Amid all this, Pakistani celebrities are highlighted for never having associated with skin lightening products no matter what.
Recently, BBC Journalist, Haroon Rashid, posted on twitter asking whether there were any Indian or Pakistani celebrities who hadn’t endorsed a fairness product yet.
This is a genuine question – can you name me Bollywood/Pakistani stars who have never endorsed a skin lightening product?
— Haroon Rashid (@iHaroonRashid) June 5, 2020
Mahira Khan replied and gave us a little more detail.
Been refusing ever since I was a VJ till now. Never endorsed a skin lightening product. https://t.co/uGB1vPyaGX
— Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) June 5, 2020
She conveyed that she had been refusing the product category since her early days in the Industry as a VJ. “Been refusing ever since I was a VJ till now. Never endorsed a skin lightening product,” she said.
Following Mahira, Momina Mustehsan also replied by talking about her experience with rejecting fairness product endorsements.
Same here 🙋🏻♀️ Always turned down all fairness product endorsements. The amount of melanin in your skin has nothing to do with how beautiful you are.
If we ALL responsibly refuse whitening endorsements, it might cause a shift in the market. We have the power to change the narrative https://t.co/KSKh1XZ0yB— Momina Mustehsan (@MominaMustehsan) June 5, 2020
She also talked about the responsibility everyone has when deciding what brands to associate themselves with. The singer acknowledged the power celebrities have and how they can use it to cause a shift in society’s perception. “Same here. Always turned down all fairness product endorsements. The amount of melanin in your skin has nothing to do with how beautiful you are. If we ALL responsibly refuse whitening endorsements, it might cause a shift in the market. We have the power to change the narrative,” said Momina.
Ayesha Omar, it appears, has also had a strong opinion against it for quite some time.
Me! 🙋🏻♀️ been refusing offers to endorse various skin whitening products since 12 years. Have a very strong stance against it. https://t.co/UcMJ32L2Do
— Ayesha Omar (@ayesha_m_omar) June 5, 2020
The actress conveyed that she has actually been rejecting such offers for over a decade by saying, “Been refusing offers to endorse various skin whitening products since 12 years. Have a very strong stance against it.”
It’s actually quite commendable that these celebrities don’t just reject these endorsements but also work towards using their stardom for good.
