Snapchat slammed for rolling out a 420 'blackface' Bob Marley filter

Snapchat apparently spent all of five seconds thinking about the appropriateness of releasing a "Bob Marley" filter for April 20 — the cannabis "holiday" known as 420 — and now the company is facing backlash with users calling the filter both racist and offensive.

The filter darkens users' faces, adds dreadlocks, and pops a Bob Marley cap onto pictures. Mashable reports that many have called the filter out for being the equivalent of "digital blackfacing," with users claiming the filter is reminiscent of the racist 19th century act of a white person theatrically darkening their face to appear black.

Celebrity users like Kylie Jenner have also been called out for insensitively applying the filter:

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Other users have taken offense to Snapchat's Marley filter being tied to 420:

Here is some free advice for you, Snapchat: Maybe next time stop and think about something like this for at least 15 seconds. Jeva Lange