Way back in 2009, when you couldn’t move for people telling you to go see Slumdog Millionaire, Freida Pinto was snapped up by L’Oreal Paris to advertise their makeup. Of course she was; she’s basically one of the most beautiful actresses around. It was a bloody big deal too, an Indian woman internationally fronting a major cosmetics brand. L’Oreal was swiftly accused of lightening Freida’s skin in early shots, and now it seems like it’s happened again. They just won’t learn!

The photos in question are from the fittingly named Colours Take Flight make up collection, in conjunction with HM fave Project Runway. Even on first glance, without a comparison between Freida’s real skin and this campaign, it is painfully obvious that they have whited her up. She has been paled so extensively as to be almost unrecognisable. Not cool, L’Oreal!

We might roll our eyes when Naomi Campbell accuses Cadbury’s of racism, and some people might think this isn’t a big deal, that it’s only a makeup commercial, but this is important and shouldn’t be ignored. Freida is one of a small handful of Indian women prominent in the international media, and by doing this, L’Oreal are diminishing her potency as a role model, as well as insulting her and millions of people worldwide.

Retouching and using clever lighting are there to remove imperfections, to make an image more perfect, more aesthetically pleasing, and to appeal to the target market. By making Freida white, L’Oreal are saying “white is perfect, white is better looking, we want to sell to white women” and in doing so, they are making yet another huge racist faux pas. This whole thing just leaves a bad taste in our mouths, to be honest.