Snapchat ‘Blackface’ Filter Under Fire

Popular social-media app Snapchat is under fire for introducing a Bob Marley filter that has drawn comparisons to blackface—it overlays Marley’s face onto the user’s, featuring cartoon dreadlocks. Kylie Jenner was one of the first celebrities to jump on the opportunity to use the filter. The timing of the controversial filter is also being questioned, since it was released on 4/20. “Snapchat is reducing the legacy of a musical great to smoking weed,” said Aaisha Dadi Patel, a Daily Vox writer. “The filter is a form of blackface, cultural appropriation, and totally problematic.” She added, “This is a caricature of a black person.”