A TikToker has been accused of blackface after recreating the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant in one of her makeup looks.
In January 2020, Bryant, 41, tragically died in a helicopter crash while on the way to a basketball tournament with his daughter Gianna Bryant, 13.
In 2022, a controversial TikTok user, who goes by @easy_baobo, paid 'tribute' to the late NBA star by using makeup to transform herself into him.
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However, many think the creator has gone too far and the video, which has been posted twice within the space of a year, has received widespread backlash.
Many social media users have been offended by the Kobe ‘recreation’ and have called the unnamed user racist for her usage of blackface.
Blackface was historically used by non-black people to portray a Black character in a theatrical show, a motion picture or a comedy skit.
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More than just makeup, blackface was used to promote negative stereotypes, mock as a form of entertainment, and stir racial prejudices.
Blackface is offensive, which is why the Bryant video has ruffled the feathers of so many via TikTok and Twitter.
In the past year, the videos in question have racked up 200,000 views between them and hundreds of comments.
Under one of the videos, one TikTok user wrote: “This is disrespectful. Where’s Vanessa [Bryant] so she can sue”.
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Another wrote: “You have a great talent but you know this is ‘Black Face’ right?”
A third said: “Call a spade how it lay.”
However, many social media users see the video as art rather than blackface or outright mockery of the basketball star.
One Twitter user said: “I thought ‘black face’ mean purposely mocking, or creating a false character?”
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Another commented: “I feel like she’s just displaying her make-up art talent. Blackface is really a reach here.”
A third agreed and wrote: “I honestly don’t see it a racism, this was a good remake, a tad bit disturbing.”
The creator herself has stated that she just ‘likes’ Bryant and that she ‘misses’ him.
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She made the comment while replying to a note on one of her videos that read: “Me scrolling through the comments to see if anyone calls them racist”
At the time of writing, Bryant is the only Black celebrity that the makeup aficionado has recreated.
Elsewhere, she’s made transformation videos on the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Marvel actor Elizabeth Olson, DC Comics character The Joker and Tilda Swinton.
UNILAD has reached out to @easy_baobo for comment.
Topics: NBA, Basketball, TikTok, Beauty
Ella Scott