Skin lightening has been in a controversial spotlight lately. The procedure has been enjoying a lot of media attention, as some companies have been very active in their advertising campaigns – but on the other hand, various bits of information have started to surface that paint the procedure in a less than favorable light. And now, a particular company within this industry has come under fire for inappropriately using the photo of a model in their promotional materials.
Toronto model Chinthiya Rajah recently found her face in an ad for a skin bleaching product, although she claims she never gave her permission for that. Rajah has quite the lengthy career as a model, being active on the scene for over ten years now, and she claims that she’s actually very diligent when it comes to her paperwork. According to her, she always goes through every release form she signs to make sure that she knows exactly how her images are going to be used, and she has never agreed to taking part in this campaign.
The ad in question was for “lightnaturalskin.com”, a website operate by Liberty Clinic. However, it would appear that the clinic itself is not entirely to blame for the situation – after Rajah contacted them demanding an explanation, the clinic responded with an apology, stating that they had legitimately purchased the image from a stock photo website. The reason they wanted to use a photo of a model and not one of their actual patients is, according to them, due to privacy concerns and the desire to protect the identities of their patients.
However, Rajah didn’t seem satisfied with the explanation. She stated that her issue with the situation goes beyond the inappropriate use of her image, and she actually has something personal against the skin bleaching industry, and dreads being associated with it herself. According to her, pale skin has a very special meaning in her own culture, and people are actively trying to attain that “ideal”, but she herself does not agree with those views and prefers her natural skin color.
So far, the situation seems to have been resolved, with the offending image already taken down from the clinic’s website. It’s not clear if Rajah is planning to pursue any legal action against the stock photo website which distributed her image in this manner, or if she even has any legal ground to stand on in this matter. However, the story is already gaining a lot of traction, as it’s opened up an interesting discussion about the way personal photos are being used in the Internet, and has been seen as a warning sign by some.