China Make-up Ad Pulled For 'Victim-blaming'
01/12/21 AT 2:21 AM
A Chinese advert for make-up wipes which linked a woman's appearance to the likelihood of assault has been taken down, and the company forced to apologise, after a backlash over "victim-blaming".
The advert, released last week by Chinese cotton products manufacturer Purcotton, showed a woman walking home at night followed by a male stalker.
As he gains on her, she removes her make-up using the wipes and transforms into a man, scaring off the would-be attacker.
It was widely panned on Chinese social media, as users on the Twitter-like service Weibo complained it made light of a serious issue and vowed to boycott the brand's products.