HBO has come under fire amid allegations by an actor who says her skin was darkened by makeup artists when she worked on the show Lovecraft Country.
Actor Kelli Amirah revealed the incident in a TikTok video that has since gone viral.
In it, she said the makeup artists applied darker foundation to make her skin match that of an older version of her character.
As Amirah explained in a previous TikTok, she was hired to play the younger version of one of the show's stars in a wedding photo.
As she discussed in her video, Amirah wasn't told ahead of time her skin would be darkened. She learned about it by listening to the makeup artists discuss her skin tone in the makeup trailer.
As she described it:
"I hear one of [the makeup artists] mention how like, 'She's a little lighter than the actress.' And the other makeup artist is like, 'Yeah you're right, but like facial features-wise, she's a dead match'."
Amirah then said as the artists continued doing her makeup, she noticed her foundation kept getting "darker and darker" and it made her very uncomfortable.
"I had no idea they were going to do this to me beforehand. And if I knew beforehand, I would not have accepted this job."
In a follow-up video, Amirah described how she responded once the shoot wrapped.
As she put it:
"As soon as we wrapped, I went right back to hair and makeup to ask for some makeup wipes because I refused to go out in the world like that."
In a statement to People, an HBO spokesperson owned up to the mistake.
"We were very disappointed to learn of Ms. Amirah's experience. This should not have happened, and we are taking steps to ensure this doesn't occur again in the future."
But on TikTok, many people were nonetheless outraged by Amirah's experience.
@theblerdgurl/TikTok
@audrey.sgt0/TikTok
@velocivixen/TikTok
@bitchpudding7889/TikTok
@inzlay/TikTok
@alanaster34/TikTok
@jdheff/TikTok
@thisonegirlc/TikTok
@amateurdoesart/TikTok
Hopefully this will be a learning experience for other networks and shows for the future.
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