Akon and WizKid are in Ghana shooting a music video ahead of their upcoming concert in the area. They have put out a casting call for Ghanian models and girls to participate the video, however, they have a very specific request, girls who are casted for the shoot must be light-skinned. One of the models and a group of girls who reported for the video shoot were turned away by an agent who informed them that “They now want half cast girls”. “Half cast”, is a term used to represent that the girls must be mixed race, preferable having white b***d in them. The agent even requested the dark-skinned girls help him locate these light-skinned girls because Akon and WizKid were adamant about the skin color preference. This type of discrimination in Africa is apparently nothing new for the area, as loads of girls in Akon’s hometown of Senegal and WizKid’s hometown of Nigeria are known for bleaching their skin to avoid discrimination. And this type of discrimination is not just limited to getting jobs in the entertainment or modeling fields but all areas of life in general. Favor is regularly shown toward the fairer skinned girls.
Activists, such as Adama Paris, are fighting to reverse these self-esteem issues by banning skinned bleached models from the Sengalese national fashion week. It’s hurtful to indigenous Ghanians that the celebrities would serve to discriminate against color in their native land causing some to consider boycotting their concert. Many feel that they should be an inspiration and help to promote beauty in all hues. Skin bleaching in parts of Africa have become an epidemic and acts of discrimination like this feed into it even further.

The dark skinned models should thank them and use the opportunity to go back to school and learn a profession.

This is coming from a guy(Akon) who is as black as night! How ironic. This is absolutely disgusting. Even though physically we are free from slavery, mentally we are still enslaved.

Do you see how some supposed Blackmen discriminate among themselves,preferring rather to be associated with a white skinned lady than a black lady. This is pathetic.

darkness (akon)...semi darkness(wizkid)....
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.dark models shud kindly ask God if dey ar destined 2 b a model.(upon all d whole marketin)
.
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..xame sha *team blackgalrocks

tpia@:
The dark skinned models should thank them and use the opportunity to go back to school and learn a profession.

what a dumb and ignorant thing to say. Not all models are uneducated, besides that is what they want to do, just like singers/actors etc.

Subom1: This is coming from a guy(Akon) who is as black as night! How ironic. This is absolutely disgusting. Even though physically we are free from slavery, mentally we are still enslaved.

Lolitua: darkness (akon)...semi darkness(wizkid)....
.
.dark models shud kindly ask God if dey ar destined 2 b a model.(upon all d whole marketin)
.
.
..xame sha *team blackgalrocks

I luv nairalanders.

How many times we go see this same story for we Nairaland?
This topic been created like 4 times!

Go check it yourself, no time for posting links *off to work*



#TeamGOM

...It is their preference na. I don't see where they put down darkskins, all they wanted was some yellowbone lol. I mean it is understandable that because akon is so dark, he may want someone on the opposite side of the spectrum. I mean you should be happy they said 'half-cast' lol there is still black in half cast. You would have made it even more of an issue if they asked for caucasians only. Erm, if they had requested darkskins only, would that have been an issue too? lol, anyhow, sha what is the fuss when darkskins tend to be the ones picked for high fashion. How do you think the lightskins and inbetweens feel? lol, abeg joor! Leave matter.

kandiikane: ...It is their preference na. I don't see where they put down darkskins, all they wanted was some yellowbone lol. I mean it is understandable that because akon is so dark, he may want someone on the opposite side of the spectrum. I mean you should be happy they said 'half-cast' lol there is still black in half cast. You would have made it even more of an issue if they asked for caucasians only. Erm, if they had requested darkskins only, would that have been an issue too? lol, anyhow, sha what is the fuss when darkskins tend to be the ones picked for high fashion. How do you think the lightskins and inbetweens feel? lol, abeg joor! Leave matter.

Shut up and stop defending the indefensible. It won't surprise me if you are one of these colonized, ignorant idiots who think light skin is superior to dark. As for Akon and wizkid, their behaviour just goes to show the type of useless parents they have who gave them no decent upbringing.

ROSSIKE:

Shut up and stop defending the indefensible. It won't surprise me if you are one of these colonized, ignorant idiots who think light skin is superior to dark. As for Akon and wizkid, their behaviour just goes to show the type of useless parents they have who gave them no decent upbringing.

Yea her comment was a bit dumb but abeg take "colonization" out of this jare. This has nothing to do with colonization. 100% sexism and self-insecurities.
I can't stand when ppl blame oyinbo for all their problems.

The only solution is when Nigerian women start to become successful artistes and professionals in their own right. Then we will not rely on men to define our identity for us (ex. bleaching, weave epidemic etc) in that case, Tpiah's comments make perfect sense.

tpia@:
The dark skinned models should thank them and use the opportunity to go back to school and learn a profession.

100% CORRECT.
wizkid can choose who he wants in his video. The onus lays in black women's hands to stop buying wizkid music and thereby making the fool more popular than he deserves.

Nonsense, I speak the truth and you call it du.mb
See double standards. You cannot have your cake and eat. Like I said it could work both ways. If they want all mix race women or caucasian then that is what they want. If another only wantssudanese toned women for their videos, I want to see the outrage as you have shown here. Rubbish!

The Konvict music Boss described the Jay Z and Beyonce Marriage with this phrase "more of business than real relationship"
No doubt, the two stars could still be Crazy In Love but Akon still believes that the fact that they've always presented their marriage as a business than a normal relationship, this is what is stirring up this kind of rumors from the public, the public is currently getting about their marriage.
http://www.naijapress.com.ng/akon-beyonce-jay-zs-union-corporate-arrangement/