Business
Perfume Brand Apologizes for Replacing John Boyega in the Chinese Version of an Ad He Directed
Published
5 months agoon

- Jo Malone London, a perfume and candle brand, apologized to its global brand ambassador John Boyega after it reshot his personal advert without him for the Chinese market.
- Last year, Boyega conceived, starred in, and directed a commercial for the band, which showcased his friends and family and was shot in his diverse hometown on Peckham, London.
- Without Boyega’s knowledge, the company replicated the concept with Chinese actor Liu Haoran and did not feature a single Black person in the remake.
- After backlash, Jo Malone London apologized and said, “The concept for the film was based on John’s personal experiences and should not have been replicated.”
Boyega’s Commercial
The perfume and candle brand Jo Malone London apologized to actor John Boyega after it replicated the personal advert he made for the company without him for the Chinese market.
In 2019, the brand named the Star Wars actor its first male global ambassador. Under the role, Boyega shot an advert for the company based on his roots and personal experiences.
The short film was called, “A London Gent,” and according to several reports, it was his creative concept and a project he directed. It showcased him enjoying time with his real-life friends and family in his diverse hometown of Peckham, London.
“There’s a mixture of things you see me do in the film, you see me in a professional environment on a film set, then with family and it’s about breaking free of the concept of ‘going back or returning to your roots’ but more about the roots existing with this new side of my life,” he said of the commercial last year in an interview with Women’s Wear Daily.
Chinese Remake
The commercial was well received and actually won Best Media Campaign at The Fragrance Foundation Awards this year. Still, the brand decided to essentially replicate the commercial for the Chinese market without Boyega’s knowledge or participation.
Instead of just using Boyega’s original ad, it replaced him with Chinese actor Liu Haoran, star of the hugely popular Detective Chinatown film franchise. Boyega’s friends and family were replaced as well, which means there was not a single Black person included in the Chinese ad.
Though it’s not totally identical, it’s clear the commercial reused the same concept –minus the diversity elements. It even replicates some specific scenes like one where the camera zooms into Boyega’s eye and another where he rides a horse while his friends ride bikes.
On top of all that, the Chinese ad is also called “A London Gent,” and according to The Hollywood Reporter, Boyega only found out about this after it was put on Twitter.
Boyega hasn’t officially commented on the issue, but he’s definitely aware of the backlash. He retweeted one user who shared his ad saying, “Now, this man needs to be properly compensated for the thievery! No apology is good enough.”
This is the ad John Boyega came up with and directed. It is great. Now, this man needs to be properly compensated for the thievery! No apology is good enough. pic.twitter.com/QVduMN3ukJ
— ferdosa @ #TIFF20 (virtually) (she/her) (@atomicwick) September 13, 2020
He also retweeted a post showing the Chinese ad for comparison, as well as an article from The Hollywood Reporter on the topic.
That article includes a statement from the brand which reads: “We deeply apologize for what, on our end, was a mistake in the local execution of the John Boyega campaign. John is a tremendous artist with great personal vision and direction. The concept for the film was based on John’s personal experiences and should not have been replicated.”
Joe Malone also apologized to Haoran, saying he was not involved in the conception of the Chinese ad.
“While we immediately took action and removed the local version of the campaign, we recognize that this was painful and that offense was caused,” it continued.
“We respect John, and support our partners and fans globally. We are taking this misstep very seriously and we are working together as a brand to do better moving forward.”
Boyega’s Past Experiences
This is not the first time Boyega has sparked discussions about racism in China and the entertainment industry. In 2015, when “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was released, Boyega’s character was resized to be significantly smaller on the Chinese version of the movie poster.
Perfume-maker Jo Malone took an ad filmed by John Boyega of Star Wars and refilmed it for China using a Chinese actor and zero black people. Sadly, Boyega must be used to this; remember what happened to him in Star Wars posters in China:https://t.co/YYRivQIAyS pic.twitter.com/AuNNmklIWr
— Pete Sweeney (@petesweeneypro) September 14, 2020
In a recent GQ interview, Boyega also criticized Disney, saying nonwhite characters were pushed aside in the Star Wars franchise while white characters were given more nuance.
“What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a Black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side. It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up,” he said at the time.
As for Jo Malone, it has pulled the Chinese advert, but it’s unclear if Boyega’s relationship with the brand will continue.
See what others are saying: (Insider) (Variety) (The Hollywood Reporter)
Business
GameStop Shares Surge Again After Investor Posts Image of McDonald’s Ice Cream Cone
Published
9 hours agoon
February 25, 2021By
Cory Ray
- GameStop share prices surged from around $50 midday Wednesday to $170 Thursday morning in pre-market trading, marking the company’s second massive share spike in 2020.
- Some attributed the recent spike to an image of a McDonald’s ice cream cone tweeted by GameStop investor and board member Ryan Cohen.
- Many have interpreted the image as a cryptic call to action since it seems connected to the “meme stocks” frenzy that first drove GameStop’s stock rise last month.
- While it’s unclear how much of an effect this image actually had on investors, other factors have also been attributed to the rise, including the alleged forced resignation of GameStop’s Chief Financial Officer.
GameStock’s Second Wave
Game Stop is seeing yet another major surge in its stock prices this year. During the last few hours of trading Wednesday evening, share prices for the video game retailer jumped from under $50 to above $90.
That price soared as high as $170 in pre-market trading Thursday morning.
Stocks like AMC and Koss have also seen notable spikes over the past 24 hours, though both have been much smaller in scale.
GameStop, Koss, AMC shares continue soaring in early tradinghttps://t.co/Vg63GvUQ4g pic.twitter.com/OIsUNEa9Fh
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) February 25, 2021
The Ice Cream Cone
Details about what exactly is driving this latest stock price increase are unclear, though different speculations are already circulating.
Outlets like CNBC have partially attributed the spike to the reported forced resignation of GameStop’s Chief Financial Officer, Jim Bell.
Others have attributed the surge to a photo of a McDonald’s ice cream cone, of all things. While such an explanation may seem out-of-left-field, it’s heavily connected to the “meme stocks” frenzy that first drove GameStop’s meteoric rise last month.
— Ryan Cohen (@ryancohen) February 24, 2021
In January, GameStop share prices soared to unprecedented highs as a group of Redditors on the message board WallStreetBets encouraged each other to stuff their money into the stock.
Though GameStop as a business has been failing for years, that was precisely why those Redditors were so keen on the stock. Many wanted to support the company simply because they like it and have a nostalgic attachment to it. Others also wanted to make certain Wall Street hedge funds pay for betting on GameStop’s failure.
Notably, the ice cream photo was shared by Ryan Cohen, a GameStop investor who — as of the start of this year — also sits on the company’s board of directors.
A number of people on WallStreetBets refer to him as “Papa Cohen,” and many hold the belief that he has the vision to transform GameStop into a profitable online business. As a result, many have interpreted this tweet as a cryptic call-to-action.
Ahhh, I was wondering why $GME was up 75% and then I realized it's because their key holder (the Chewy founder) tweeted this picture of an ice cream cone.
— Nate Anderson (@ClarityToast) February 24, 2021
Makes a lot more sense now. pic.twitter.com/E1Qw5hhjdX
As a reporter for The Verge noted, a number of factors are likely playing a role here, including Bell’s ousting, Cohen’s ice cream tweet, and a Congressional testimony last week from Reddit user Roaring Kitty.
Kitty, whose real name is Keith Gill, is an investor who’s largely been credited with helping to drive the meme-stock frenzy. In fact, this past Friday, Gill also bought an additional 50,000 shares of GameStop.
Criticism Against Free-To-Trade Apps
On Wednesday, American investor Charlie Munger blamed free-to-trade apps like Robinhood for the current meme stock frenzy, calling it “a culture which encourages as much gambling in stocks by people who have the mindset of racetrack bettors… It’s a dirty way of making money.”
In a statement made on Thursday, a Robinhood spokesperson refuted Munger’s characterization, saying, “To suggest that new investors have a ‘mindset of racetrack bettors’ is disappointing and elitist.”
See what others are saying: (Kotaku) (The Verge) (CNBC)
Business
Facebook Blocks News in Australia Over Proposed Media Compensation Law
Published
1 week agoon
February 18, 2021By
Lili Stenn
- Australian leaders condemned Facebook on Thursday after it blocked all Australians from sharing domestic and international news on the platform and prevented all global users from sharing news by Australian publishers.
- Facebook also wiped the pages of state health departments and emergency services that provide resources amid the pandemic and the ongoing fire season, though it later restored those systems.
- The move comes as Australia prepares to pass a law that would require large tech companies to pay media organizations for content that appears on their platforms.
- Facebook and Google have long fought against the legislation, but Google shifted its stance Thursday, saying it entered a three-year agreement to pay Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. for its content.
Facebook Escalates Battle With Australia
Facebook took the unprecedented step Thursday of blocking news access on the platform in Australia – a drastic escalation of a battle over a proposed regulatory law in the country.
Under the legislation, which is expected to pass in the next week, tech giants would be required to negotiate compensation with news organizations for the content that appears on their platforms.
Those who support the law argue that traditional media organizations have been steadily declining while big companies like Facebook and Google, which have become major distributors of news, continue to make billions of dollars from digital advertising. As a result, proponents believe that these companies have a responsibility to help support news organizations whose content they profit off of by driving traffic to the sites.
Facebook and Google, however, have fought hard against the law. They have said it is unworkable for a number of reasons and claimed it would incentivize the news organizations to jack up prices during negotiations.
Now that is all but certain Australia will approve the law soon, Facebook has reinforced its opposition efforts. Not only does Facebook’s current ban block Australians from sharing both domestic and international news sources on the platform, but it also prevents all Australian publishers from being seen on Facebook everywhere else in the world.
The ban also goes beyond the news. According to reports, pages for state health departments were also wiped clean just three days before the launch of a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program. Emergency services were also taken out, including the Bureau of Meteorology, which has been providing essential weather data in the middle of fire season.
Pages for nonprofits and charities were also taken away, meanwhile, groups dedicated to spreading conspiracy theories about vaccines, 5G, Bill Gates, and the end of the world remained up.
Facebook, for its part, blamed the disappearances on the proposed legislation.
“As the law does not provide clear guidance on the definition of news content, we have taken a broad definition in order to respect the law as drafted,” a spokesperson told reporters, though the company eventually agreed to revive the public service pages.
Facebook Slammed By Politicians
Facebook’s decision to ban all news in Australia — especially the blocking of essential service accounts — sparked outrage from leaders in the country.
Many politicians condemned Facebook for preventing access to health information in a pandemic and censoring news.
Facebook blocking health information in the middle of a global pandemic is utterly irresponsible.
— 💚🌏 Sarah Hanson-Young (@sarahinthesen8) February 17, 2021
Mark Zuckerberg, a mega-billionaire is censoring what news and information Australians can access.
“The fact that there are organizations like state health departments, fire and emergency services… who have had their Facebook pages blocked, that’s a public safety issue,” Communications Minister Paul Fletcher told the Associated Press.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison also took aim at Facebook in a post on the platform.
“Facebook’s actions to unfriend Australia today, cutting off essential information services on health and emergency services, were as arrogant as they were disappointing,” he said. “These actions will only confirm the concerns that an increasing number of countries are expressing about the behavior of BigTech companies who think they are bigger than governments and that the rules should not apply to them.”
Morrison went on to say that the government would not back down and urged Facebook to work constructively with them like Google, which has taken the opposite approach.
Google Strikes Deal With Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
Shortly before Facebook imposed its block, Google announced that it had made a three-year agreement to pay Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. for its content in Australia as well as the U.S. and the U.K.
The search engine — which just a weeks ago threatened to make its products unavailable in Australia over the proposed law— has since changed its mind and instead struck several multimillion-dollar deals with other Australian publishers.
While many praised Google for its approach, some media watchdog groups are worried that these deals will only further the ability of large tech companies make news organizations beholden to them.
Others have also expressed concern over Google’s deal with Murdoch, who has been lobbying the Australian government to push tech companies to pay news organizations for years, and who The New York Times described as “quite cozy with Australia’s conservative government.”
At the same time, other industry leaders have said this will be a net good for journalism and likely a model for other countries, including Microsoft, whose president wrote a blog post last week arguing that the U.S. should enact similar legislation.
See what others are saying: (The Associated Press) (The New York Times) (NPR)
Business
Uber Asks EU To Adopt Prop 22-Style Standards
Published
1 week agoon
February 16, 2021By
Cory Ray
- Uber outlined a proposal to the European Union on Monday that, if implemented, would essentially enact policies similar to California’s prop 22.
- Prop-22, which became law in the state following the 2020 Elections, exempts app-based transportation companies from classifying their drivers as employees.
- The EU will not immediately entertain Uber’s proposal. Instead, it plans to meet with workers next week to hear their concerns.
- On a related note, the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court will decide on Friday whether two Uber drivers should be entitled to minimum wage, paid leave, and rest breaks.
Uber’s Push for Prop 22 in the EU
Uber began lobbying the European Union Monday to adopt Prop-22 style standards.
Notably, Prop 22, which was approved by California voters in November, exempts app-based transportation and delivery companies from having to classify their drivers as employees. Instead, drivers are classified as “gig workers.”
Since its introduction, the proposition has been controversial. That’s because it eliminated a number of benefits drivers would have seen as employees, including sick pay and workers’ compensation. While it did promise wage guarantees and health insurance stipends, even those aspects have proved controversial.
Uber pushing for this type of policy in Europe isn’t much of a surprise. In fact, right after Prop 22 passed, Uber indicated that wanted to go global with similar models.
In a message sent to the European Commission, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi argued that workers are entitled to have control over when and where they want to work.
“We believe a new approach is possible,” he said. “One where having access to protections and benefits doesn’t come at the cost of flexibility and of job creation.”
“This could include helping platform workers pay into existing public social protection schemes,” he added, ‘or it could mean an industry-funded portable benefits fund, allowing platform workers to accrue funds to access the protections and benefits they want.”
“Critically, whatever the model, there must be an industry level playing field to ensure all independent workers have consistent earnings whichever app they choose to work on.”
That said, the EU won’t immediately entertain Uber’s request. Next week, it plans to meet with workers and representatives on gig workers’ rights to obtain their feedback on how to improve working conditions.
UK Set To Decide Major Workers’ Rights Case
On Feb 19., the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is set to rule on a 2016 case involving two Uber drivers who allege they’re entitled to rights such as minimum wage, paid leave, and rest breaks.
Should Uber lose, it would essentially be forced to adopt policies opposite of those currently in play by California’s Prop 22. Still, it could take several months for such a decision to go into effect.
Last week, a lawsuit aiming to overturn California’s Prop 22 was also filed in the U.S. While that lawsuit was originally filed with the state’s Supreme Court, the court ultimately decided not to hear the case. Now, it will be heard in the Alameda County Superior Court.
See what others are saying: (TechCrunch) (CNBC) (U.S. News & World Report)

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