Jo Malone London ‘Deeply Apologises’ To John Boyega After Cutting Him From Chinese Ad

John Boyega

John Boyega has received an apology from perfume and candle maker Jo Malone London, after they cut him out of an ad campaign for the Chinese market without his knowledge.

Last year, the Star Wars actor was announced as a “Global Ambassador” for the brand. As part of this, he made a short film called London Gent, that showed him exploring his home of Peckenham.

A longer version can be seen below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNPKTVBi5lU

Jo Malone London recently released a version of the commercial for the Chinese market, but re-shot it without Boyega, casting popular local star Liu Haoran in his place.

https://twitter.com/liuhaoran_intl/status/1300628495471525888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1300628495471525888%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hollywoodreporter.com%2Fnews%2Fjo-malone-london-deeply-apologizes-after-china-drops-john-boyega-in-ad-reshoot-exclusive

Boyega, who conceived and directed the London Gent spot himself, was not aware that the commercial had been re-shot until he saw the new version on Twitter.

The actor had previously spoken about the personal importance of the campaign to him, as a means of highlighting his family, friends and background in a diverse part of London.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Jo Malone London addressed the situation, saying:

“We deeply apologize for what, on our end, was a mistake in the local execution of the John Boyega campaign. John is a tremendous artist with great personal vision and direction. The concept for the film was based on John’s personal experiences and should not have been replicated.”

The company also apologised to Liu Haoran, adding:

“While we immediately took action and removed the local version of the campaign, we recognize that this was painful and that offense was caused. We respect John, and support our partners and fans globally. We are taking this misstep very seriously and we are working together as a brand to do better moving forward.”

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