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

(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/Marisa_Carroll)

published 20 April 2016

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.

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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

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.