Come on Snapchat, don’t ruin a perfectly good holiday.
April 20th – or 4/20 – is a marijuana commemoration day that’s marked annually by students, stoners, and hungry people worldwide.
This year Snapchat got in on the 4/20 action with a feature that has not gone down well.
The social media app has installed an official ‘Bob Marley’ filter for the day – leading to accusations that it’s racially insensitive by encouraging the use of blackface.
The confusion has fooled many into believing that today is Bob Marley’s birthday (it isn’t), while others are angry that it’s tarnishing the legacy of the iconic musician.
A Snapchat spokesperson told The Next Web:
“The lens we launched today was created in partnership with the Bob Marley Estate, and gives people a new way to share their appreciation for Bob Marley and his music. Millions of Snapchatters have enjoyed Bob Marley’s music, and we respect his life and achievements.”Be that as it may, it seems there’s a fine line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation:
Seriously, NO ONE @Snapchat considered a black face Bob Marley filter might be offensive?
— Angie E (@angnik26) April 20, 2016
This Bob Marley snapchat filter today makes me uncomfortable
— B (@TweetsByBilal) April 20, 2016
opening up @Snapchat today w/ the Bob Marley filter…. pic.twitter.com/2uZfpN1DHB
— Everette Taylor (@Everette) April 20, 2016
the bob marley snapchat filter is literally blackface like….. can this not happen? can we delete this?
— sammy? (@YVSCKO) April 20, 2016
Oh my god oh my god oh my god snapchat put a "Bob Marley" filter and it's… bad and in poor taste, to say the least pic.twitter.com/syAHGXp3f6
— Alp Ozcelik (@alplicable) April 20, 2016
Snapchat has made a "Bob Marley" filter for 4/20? Lol don't reduce the brother's legacy to nothing more than a weed mascot for white hippies
— Jordan Rose (@ZER0DayVirus) April 20, 2016
bob marley wrote songs about peace, love and equality but y'all are ONLY going to associate him with smoking weed? pic.twitter.com/5Soib7s8z2
— hiba (@hibaxvii) April 20, 2016
This article first appeared on JOE.co.uk
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