India’s ‘Fair & Lovely’ ads clearly hint at colourism: Darren Sammy

The ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement has taken the world by storm since the killing of African-American man George Floyd by policemen in Minneapolis. Cricketers all over the world have now begun to speak up on the issue of racism, with former West Indies all-rounder Darren Sammy taking a sly dig at Indian advertisements for a popular face cream called ‘Fair & Lovely’.

Former Windies captain Darren Sammy is not one to mince his words when it comes to the issue of racism. The 36-year-old was quoted as saying:

“Your ad, Fair & Lovely clear says lovely people are the fairer people. That’s what it stands for, it hints at colourism.”

Unilever, the makers of Fair & Lovely, had recently announced that they would be removing the word ‘fair’ from their product. The step was taken after netizens on social media lashed out at the company for their promotion of a singular ideal of beauty.

Sunny Jain, president of Unilever’s beauty and personal care division, said:

“We recognise that the use of the words ‘fair,’ ‘white’ and ‘light’ suggest a singular ideal of beauty that we don’t think is right, and we want to address this.”

Darren Sammy represented West Indies in 38 Tests, 126 ODIs and 68 T20s in his 13-year international career. He also represented teams like Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the years.

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Darren Sammy's recent revelations about racism in the IPL

Ishant Sharma was at the heart of Darren Sammy's revelation about his experience in the IPL

Darren Sammy had recently expressed his displeasure at having been subjected to racial slurs during his time at Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He revealed how hurt he felt when he discovered the racial connotation of a nickname he thought his teammates fondly called him by.

In an Instagram video, he said:

“Ishant calling me something (Kalu) may have been done innocently but any word that degrades must be shunned. I have had a conversation with him and I have moved forward in life.”

Indian paceman Ishant Sharma responded to Darren Sammy, stating that the word was used ‘from a place of love’. Sammy later said:

“In his home, Ishant Sharma has a big poster of us joining hands and I had signed on it saying ‘Brothers For Life.’ I don’t want to dwell on that issue because there are bigger problems that need attention. Let’s look forward.”