A TikTok star has apologized after being slated for her ‘ignorance’ in how she promoted a new film.
TikToker Mirta Miler, who goes by @mimiermakeup, faced a backlash on the platform a few days ago after initially posting a sponsored video promoting the upcoming Warner Bros. film, The Color Purple.
In her video, which has now been deleted, she referred to the film as a 'heartwarming' flick and appeared to commemorate the film’s release by wearing a purple dyed wig, a purple jumper and eating a purple macaroon.
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This was not well-received, however.
The 2023 film, based on the 1982 book of the same name, follows the trials and tribulations African American teenager Celie deals with while living in rural Georgia in the early 1900s.
In addition to this, the story - set to release in cinemas on 25 December - delves into abusive relationships, racism and race relations, sexism and violence.
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Miler’s video was quickly condemned by those on social media, with many calling it ‘tone deaf’ and in poor taste.
“She didn’t do research and disrespected what the movie was about,” one TikTok user wrote on a video that was addressing Miler’s deleted video.
“I noticed a lot of ‘influencers’ are promoting the movie. Yet all of the videos are about the color rather than the story,” wrote another.
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Miler has since confirmed that she did not do her research and apologized for her ‘ignorance’.
“I am not making this video to justify my stupidity or unprofessionalism, I am making this video to take accountability… me as a content creator absolutely did not do my job, and my job is to educate myself about the content I post — especially sponsored content,” she said in the apology video.
“In my mind there is no explanation of justification for being ignorant. The only thing that I feel like it’s a right thing to do is to be absolutely embarrassed and take accountability for my ignorance and apologize directly to the black community for being tone deaf and insensitive.
“I would also like to thank the people for holding me accountable and pointing this out to me because I am not the kind of person that would sweep things under the rug.”
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She went on to say she has not and will not be accepting any compensation from Warner Bros for her content.
She closed by saying she appreciated people listening to her apology and would going away to reflect on the incident.
Topics: TikTok, Film and TV
Gerrard Kaonga