From The New York Daily News…
FHM Philippines magazine pulls its March cover featuring beauty Bela Padilla after ‘racism’ outcry
Cover shows fair-skinned Padilla ‘Stepping Out of the Shadows’ surrounded by three black models; publisher and Padilla apologize
By Philip Caulfield / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
The Philippines edition of British lad mag FHM has dumped its March cover showing a fair-skinned model surrounded by a group of black models over charges of racism.
A headline on the cover, which featured Philippine beauty Bela Padilla in a bright pink bikini posing between three black models in black bikinis, blared, “Bela Padilla stepping out of the shadows.”
The cover was posted to the magazine’s Facebook page on Saturday, sparking complaints on Twitter and Facebook.
“DISGUSTING representation of #colorism and #racism in the Philippines!” one user Twitter user wrote, according to London’s The Telegraph.
“Shame on FHM Philippines!” another reader, who identified herself as a Filipino-American shoe designer, tweeted.
Just hours after the cover was revealed, more than 300 people signed a petition on Change.org calling for FHM to scrap the shot and apologize.
“A cover starring Bela Padilla ‘stepping out of the shadows’ would be uncontroversial, if the shadows weren’t black models,” the petition’s creator, Victor Bautista, wrote.
FHM announced it was yanking the cover on Monday.
“When FHM hits the stands in March it will have a different cover,” the magazine’s publisher, Summit Media, said in a statement, The Telegraph reported.
“We apologize and thank those who have raised their points. We apologize to Bela Padilla for any distress this may have caused her.”
Padilla, 20, who is the niece of Filipino action star Robin Padilla, tweeted an apology, saying, “I’m so sorry to everyone who got offended. I hope all of you see the beauty of the cover and appreciate it.”
“My cover is supposed to be about stepping out of MY shadows, inhibitions, fears, etc. And has nothing to do with race,” she added later.
