A Russian socialite and philanthropist did major damage control Tuesday after she faced backlash for taking a picture while sitting on a chair made out of a nearly naked mannequin of a black woman.
The photograph of Dasha Zhukova, who is also the editor of the art magazine Garage, was meant to accompany an interview for the Russian fashion website Buro 24/7, the Telegraph reported. The photograph was published on Monday, the birthday of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In the picture, Zhukova looks at the camera while posing on top of a black woman wearing black boots and underwear, feet in the air and legs tied to her torso. The mannequin's face looks up at Zhukova above her.
The website FashionBombDaily was one of the first to call the picture out as an example of "modern day ignorance and racial insensitivity."
The image depicts "white dominance and superiority, articulated in a seemingly serene yet overtly degrading way," FashionBombDaily said.
Like other similar situations that have been called racially insensitive, the photograph did not escape backlash from social media.
"The white-supremacist-capitalist-patriarchy don't rest. No ma'am," T.O. Molefe tweeted Tuesday.
"Just the MOST ridiculous, crazy, racist piece of furniture we've ever seen," Marie Clair tweeted.
Zhukova, who also owns an art gallery and is the girlfriend of billionaire Roman Abramovich, issued a statement Tuesday apologizing for the photo.
Zhukova said the chair was a piece of art created by Bjarne Melgaard, a Norwegian artist. Melgaard's work was based on another piece of art by Allen Jones, which was supposed to be "a commentary on gender and racial politics," Zhukova said in her statement obtained by the Telegraph.
"Its use in this photo shoot is regrettable as it took the artwork totally out of its intended context," the statement said.
"I regret allowing an artwork with such charged meaning to be used in this context. I utterly abhor racism and would like to apologize to those offended by my participation in this shoot," Zhukova said, the Telegraph reported.
