A beauty product advertisement featuring Harry Potter star Emma Watson is irking netizens who claim that it allegedly promotes racism and hypocrisy. The 2013 ad for Lancome's Blanc Expert, a skin whitening and lightening product, has been met with indignation by many individuals who are against racial discrimination.

Like Us on Facebook

An essay published on Gal-Dem by Naomi Mabita criticizes Watson's commercial as the ad suggests that only "whiteness" is ideal among women. The writer further noted how Watson just made it clear to the public that perfection equates only to having fairer and whiter skin.

The product placing Watson in the spotlight is described as a "gentle cleanser that lathers quickly and spreads easily to gently wash off dead skin cells with melanin and cleanse the pores" on the Lancome website. The site claims that the product is the top whitening brand across Asia.

Some people furiously reacted to the ad despite the fact that it is from years ago. Twitter user Charlie Cuff (@CharlieBCuff) contested the product's description saying that melanin is something that people should not want to get rid of.

A certain @ClaireShrugged also Tweeted that because of endorsing the product, Watson has somehow endorsed a hierarchy in race that must be adhered to by many. She further stated that although she has always liked Watson as an actress, her advocacy towards skin whitening is just plain inexcusable.

@SpyEast from Twitter also had a piece to tell Watson, "Emma Watson is the face of Lancome skin whitening product. How white does she want to be?"

Watson's role as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter movies also suddenly became an object of ridicule as a Tweet from Sewuese Bem (@bsewe01) addressed Watson as "Herminone the Hyprocrite."

Watson's representative quickly came at the Hollywood star's defense, telling PeopleStyle that artists do not really have control as to how their image is going to be used once a contract is already settled and signed between the parties. He added that he could not comment on Watson's previous arrangements with Lancome, but assured the public that the 25-year-old United Nations Ambassador no longer promotes beauty products that "do not always reflect the diverse beauty of all women."

Tagsemma watson updates, emma watson news, Emma Watson, emma watson lancome ad, emma watson lancome, emma watson feminist, emma watson whitening product