Joan Smalls Calls Out IMG Models After Racist Remark
Puerto Rican fashion model Joan Smalls posted on her Instagram account Thursday, calling out the Senior Manager of IMG Models for a racist remark against Smalls. She posted in her post that the unnamed senior manager called her a “dumb Puerto Rican.”
Smalls, known for being the first Latina model to represent Estée Lauder Cosmetics in 2011, posted a detailed caption stating, “I’m a proud, multiracial human being. I am troubled and offended by the racist remark made against me by a ‘Senior Manager @igmmodels.'” She continues to state, “Their comment about me being a ‘dumb Puerto Rican’ is unacceptable and has no place in professional interactions.” Smalls has expressed she wants a full investigation into the incident and “appropriate disciplinary action,” according to USA Today.
The model, 36, also explains that this is not her first experience of racism within the modeling industry. She also stated in the post, “This isn’t the first time a racist comment has been hurled in my direction,” as indicated by Remexcla. She notes that “At the beginning of my career, another Parisian agent called me the N-word. And I quote, ‘Karl Lagerfeld would never book a N** for this campaign…’ because I confirmed the Chanel campaign. Those words still haunt me.”
Towards the end of the post, the model finally makes a final statement, stating she is no longer tolerating staying silent as she faces hate and discrimination in the industry and refuses “to be a victim of hate speech and allow such harmful behaviors to continue to persist with such audacity in private.”
The model addressed the lack of diversity when she appeared on the cover of Elle in 2013. She stated in the magazine, “They say, ‘Well, it’s just that designer’s aesthetic.’ But when you see 18 seasons in a row and not one single model outside a certain skin color, there are people in the industry who are advocates and support diversity. And some people do not. I don’t get it. Beauty is universal. These doors have to open.”
Smalls has a history of advocating for black and brown people. For instance, in June 2020, she pledged half of her remaining wages towards the Black Lives Matter Movement and called out the industry for its response to the Black Lives Matter protests.
She has received praise and support from her fans and celebrities, such as Ricky Martin, Gabrielle Union, and Linda Evangelista.
