After cries of racial insensitivity, Disney announced Wednesday they are pulling the Maui character costume from their website.
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Disney said Wednesday it would no longer sell a boy’s costume for a Polynesian character that some Pacific Islanders have compared to blackface.
The full-body, zip-up costume, linked to the upcoming animated feature Moana, featured brown skin with traditional Pacific tattoos, a grass skirt and bone necklace.
Over the weekend, Disney did something it often does: It released a new Halloween costume on its online store. Although Disney has featured brown-skinned people in its films before – Pocahontas comes to mind – it has not released a costume in which said brown skin itself is depicted as part of the outfit.
The film’s depiction of Maui aside, the official Disney “Moana” costumes, pajamas and wigs are, by definition, a form of cultural appropriation, according to Tēvita O. Kaʻili, an Oceanian sociocultural anthropologist at Brigham Young University Hawaii.
Fairchild said the company only pulled the costume because critical voices were heard.
Fairchild, who is attending school in San Antonio, Texas, later said she accepted the apology, but it didn’t change what the company did.
On Twitter, those who are offended have been alerting Disney to the costume’s arguably problematic aspects.
“We sincerely apologise and are pulling the costume from our website and stores”. It tells the story of a teenager named Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) who meets the demigod Maui (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), who helps her become a wayfinder, guiding her through a slew of ocean obstacles and monsters along the way.
But, unlike its Buzz Lightyear spacesuit, Elsa princess gown or Mickey Mouse bodysuit, this costume depicted actual skin – brown skin covered in tribal tattoos, to be specific.
Disney said in a statement Wednesday it regrets offending some with the outfit. It says the team behind the “Moana” movie has taken great care to respect the cultures of the Pacific that inspired the film.
Pacific activists accused Disney of cultural appropriation, comparing it to the racially offensive “black face” make-up once worn by white performers in United States minstrel shows.
Pacific Islanders are speaking out against one of Disney’s newest costumes, likening its long-sleeve brown shirt and long trousers featuring full-body tattoos to a version of blackface. Disney’s online store offered pajamas in a similar design.
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“Polyface is Disney’s new version of blackface. Plus, padded arms and legs for mighty stature!”
