Black supermodel Adut Akech feels disrespected by ‘Who’ magazine for confusing her with another black model

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Aug 28

Article By Briana Peyton // Beauty // Race

Credit: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images AsiaPac

One of the biggest-named Sudanese-Australian models in the world is airing out her personal grievances against an Australian publication that printed an image of a different black model next to her feature.

19-year-old Adut Akech says she feels “disrespected” after Who magazine placed model Flavia Lazarus where Akech’s image should have been.

Akech, who has appeared on multiple covers of Vogue and in campaigns for high-end brands, like Chanel, Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Valentino, and Prada, called the error “inexcusable under any circumstances” in an irate Instagram post.

The teen beauty and fashion icon-in-the-making, who is this year’s ambassador for Melbourne Fashion Week, was also named “one of the most influential teenagers of the year” by TIME magazine.

“This is a big deal because of what I spoke about in my interview,” explained Akech, who used the spread to address “how people view refugees and people’s attitude to color in general.”

Wrong face! Adut Akech shares the disappointing spread with followers (Credit: Instagram)

Born in South Sudan, as a former child refugee, Akech’s life wasn’t filled with glamor and opulence as it is today. She shared with CNN that she spent the first eight years of her life in Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp and then migrated to Australia. Akech has expressed on numerous occasions her desire to use her influence for the good of others.

For her, this latest industry faux pas, has undermined her cause.

“By this happening I feel like it defeated the purpose of what I stand for and spoke about. It goes to show that people are very ignorant and narrow-minded that they think every black girl or African people look the same.”

The magazine apologized to Akech and issued a statement to People, saying, the agency responsible for setting up the interview, “supplied us with the wrong photograph to accompany the piece.”

Who also said, “Our intention was to share Adut’s inspiring story and highlight her achievements. We are committed to increasing the diversity in the pages of Who and arranged the interview in view of this. Hopefully, the result of our misprint will be more people talking about this issue in the industry and tackling it head-on.”

Though the mix-up is unfortunate, the controversy is actually bringing more attention to the greater issue, which is, the need for more representation of black people in industries around the world. With increased visibility comes enhanced ability to recognize not just our faces, but the nuances that make us uniquely who we are.

Kudos to this courageous young woman for speaking out.