British fashion label Burberry was happy for Dev Patel for winning the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor. They even put out a tweet congratulating Patel. But unfortunately for everyone involved, the image they attached to the tweet was not of Dev Patel, but Star Wars Rogue One star Riz Ahmed.
The tweet was soon deleted, but the Internet is permanent. Several Twitter users grabbed screenshots of the goof-up, some even suggesting that this mistake hinted at underlying racism. Do “all brown people look the same?” asked Twitter user Simran Jeet Singh.
Burberry issued an apology to The Wrap: “We apologise unreservedly for the incorrectly titled pictures of Dev Patel and Riz Ahmed posted late last night. This was a mistake that should not have happened and was corrected immediately. We have apologised directly to Dev and Riz. We are checking our processes to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
{{/usCountry}}Burberry issued an apology to The Wrap: “We apologise unreservedly for the incorrectly titled pictures of Dev Patel and Riz Ahmed posted late last night. This was a mistake that should not have happened and was corrected immediately. We have apologised directly to Dev and Riz. We are checking our processes to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
{{/usCountry}}Both Dev Patel and Riz Ahmed were wearing Burberry at the BAFTAs, held in London on Sunday. Patel won for his performance in Lion while Ahmed had received nominations at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards for his role in HBO’s The Night Of.
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