Naomi Osaka Sponsor Drops Ad after Criticism
大阪直美代言廣告「被漂白」惹爭議
Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka says she hopes companies she represents will talk with her about how to present her in future advertisements.
日本網球明星大阪直美(Naomi Osaka)表示,她希望所代言的公司能和她商討在未來的廣告中如何展現自己。
Osaka was asked about criticism of her sponsor, Nissin Foods Holdings. The company produced an animated advertisement that showed Osaka with skin that looked lighter than her real skin color.
大阪直美被記者問及其贊助商日清食品控股有限公司所面臨的指責。該公司設計了一款動畫廣告,動畫中大阪直美的膚色比其真實膚色更白。
Critics said the ad does not represent Osaka's darker skin, as well as her biracial background. Osaka was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a Haitian-American father.
批評人士表示,該廣告沒有展現出大阪直美的深膚色及其混血背景。大阪直美出生於日本,母親是日本人,父親是海地裔美國人。
Nissin has since removed the advertisement from YouTube.
日清公司現已從YouTube上下架了這則廣告。
"I've talked to them. They've apologized," Osaka said. "I'm tan. It's pretty obvious."
大阪直美表示:「我跟代言商談過了,他們也道歉了。很明顯,我是曬黑的。」
Osaka said she did not think the company's aim was to "whitewash" her. But she added, "I definitely think that the next time they try to portray me or something, I feel like they should talk to me about it."
大阪直美表示,她認為代言商的目的不是想「漂白」她。但是她補充說:「我確實認為下次塑造我的動畫形象時應該提前與我協商。「
Osaka spoke to reporters in Melbourne, where she is getting ready to play in Saturday's Australian Open final.
大阪直美在墨爾本接受了記者採訪,她正在備戰周六的澳網公開賽決賽。
Osaka told the media, "I'm just focused on this right now. I've gotten to the final of a slam, and that's sort of my main priority."
大阪直美告訴媒體:「現在我只關注眼下的比賽,我已經進入大滿貫決賽,這才是我的首要任務。」
Osaka will face Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the final. A victory for Osaka would give her the number-one ranking in the world.
大阪直美將在決賽中迎戰來自捷克共和國的選手——佩特拉·科維託娃。大阪直美此番若獲勝將登頂世界第一。
It is not the first time that a Japanese company has face criticism for how it deals with issues such as race and nationality.
這不是日本公司第一次因處理種族和國籍等問題不當而飽受爭議。
Baye McNeil is an American who has lived in Japan for more than 10 years. He wrote an opinion article for The Japan Times, a local English-language paper. McNeil wrote, "I found a whitewashed representation of Osaka that could've easily been based off a TV personality like Becky or Rola."
美國人拜埃·麥克尼爾在日本生活了10多年。他為當地的英文報紙《日本時報》寫了一篇評論文章。麥克尼爾寫道:「我發現,大阪直美的美白形象可能是簡單地基於貝基或羅拉這樣的人物形象。」
McNeil told the Associated Press that Japanese companies need to become more inclusive if they hope to appeal to a worldwide market. "They are not thinking on that level," McNeil said. "It may be painful, but Japan is going through growing pains right now."
麥克尼爾告訴美聯社,如果日本企業想要吸引全球市場,就必須要更具包容性。他說:「他們還沒有考慮到這一點。這可能很痛苦,但是日本現在正在經歷這種成長的痛苦。」
Daisuke Okabayashi is a spokesman for Nissin Foods Holdings. He said Thursday the company did not mean to disrespect Osaka's diversity. The ad also showed Kei Nishikori, another Japanese tennis star, with lighter skin.
岡林大輔(Daisuke Okabayashi)是日清食品控股有限公司的發言人。周四,他表示,該公司並非不尊重大阪直美的「多樣性」。另一位日本網球明星錦知圭(Kei Nishikori)同樣以白膚色出現在廣告中。
Okabayashi said Osaka's representative approved the ad but later asked to have the ad taken down. He said the company continues to support Osaka and does not want the issue to become a distraction.
岡林大輔表示,大阪直美的代表批准了這則廣告,但是後來要求刪除廣告。他說,公司會繼續支持大阪直美,不希望這個問題讓人分心。