A Gap Kids ad was pulled recently after gaining attention on Twitter for being racially insensitive, Refinery29 reports.
The ad, which is part of the Gap Kids x ED campaign (a collaboration with Ellen Degeneres), is under fire for the body language of the girls in the photo—a white girl leaning on a young black girl, while two other white girls pose theatrically.
The two girls in the middle are actually sisters, Business Insider reported Thursday. In a recent tweet, the girls’ mother fought back against the backlash.
@TheRoot girl with arm resting on her shoulder is her sister She didn’t talk in video because she was 2 shy. everyone needs to calm down.
— Brooke Smith (@Iam_BrookeSmith) April 3, 2016
A spokeswoman for the girls in the photo, Nathalie Yves Gaulthier, responded to the controversy, saying, “The child in the ad is not an ‘armrest,’ she’s the other girl’s little sister, they are a very close family,” Refinery29 reports. The spokeswoman even stated that she and Le Petit Cirque (the organization affiliated with the young models), stand by Gap and Degeneres, according to Business Insider.
Despite the company’s explanation, the ad was pulled Monday, and will be replaced in the campaign, Refinery29 reports. This is just the latest in a long line of racially insensitive issues that have snuck past many media professionals.