John Boyega has quit his role as Jo Malone ambassador after he was cut from their advert in China.
As the brand’s first male global ambassador, the actor helped create the advert campaign for the perfume London Gent in August.
Set in Peckham, south London, it sees him walking around his hometown and featured appearances from his friends and family.
He also wears traditional Nigerian dress as a nod to his heritage.
However he was edited out of a version of the advert that was released in China and replaced by actor Liu Haoran.
John tweeted a statement on Monday saying the decision was made ‘without either my consent or prior notice’.
He said: ‘I have decided to step down as Jo Malone’s global ambassador. When I joined the brand as their first male global ambassador last year, I created the short film we used to launch the campaign. It won the Fragrance Foundation Virtual awards 2020 for Best Media Campaign.
‘Their decision to replace my campaign in China by using my concepts and substituting a local brand ambassador for me, without either my consent or prior notice, was wrong. The film celebrated my personal story– showcasing my hometown, including my friends and featuring my family.
‘While many brands understandably use a variety of global and local ambassadors , dismissively trading out one’s culture this way is not something I can condone.’
The Star Wars actor added: ‘It’s back to back but I assure you this will be dealt with swiftly. I don’t have time for nonsense. We press on and strong. Stay blessed people.’
It comes after John was issued an apology by Jo Malone, calling the axe ‘a mistake in the local execution of the John Boyega campaign’.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter the brand said: ‘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.
‘While we immediately took action and removed the local version of the campaign, we recognise that this was painful and that offense was caused.
‘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.’
The Attack The Block star recently called out Disney directly for sidelining his Star Wars character Finn based on his race.
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