Alitalia forced to withdraw ad after row over 'blackface' actor portraying Barack Obama



Italy’s national airline has been forced to pull an online advertisement which featured an actor blacked up to look like former US president Barack Obama, after accusations that it was racist.

Alitalia apologised for the advert, one of four launched under the hashtag #WhereIsWashington to publicise a new route between Rome and the American capital.

The offending ad featured an actor, believed to be Tunisian, wearing heavy make-up to resemble Mr Obama.

Three other ads from the same campaign depicted actors dressed as Donald Trump, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.

Alitalia initially defended the Obama ad, saying the actor was not Caucasian so that accusations that he had worn “blackface” were unjustified.

But after further attacks on social media, the company announced that it was withdrawing the advertisement.

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