*While Miami Swim Week has been praised for its inclusivity, with the Sports Illustrated swimsuit show including a Paralympic athlete and breastfeeding mom in its diverse cast, one model claims she and other black models were turned away from a casting call due to their race and, in some cases, Afro hairstyles.
Check out their Instagram posts about the fu*kery below.
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As Racked reports, model Joia Talbott and fellow model Ka-Cey posted a video about their experience, saying that they and nearly a dozen black models were dismissed from a casting because they didn’t want any more black models, and that Afros were a no-no.
“They [were] definitely not feeling my Afro at all, so I didn’t stand a chance, right?” Talbott continued. “Wow. We’re ready to go back to L.A. where we’re appreciated, and we book.”
“Somebody tell Miami that there’s no such thing as too much brown skin,” Ka-Cey added.
Talbott claims that the casting agents — whose agency is not named in her posts — told the group that the casting was closed. When the women moved out of the line, the casting resumed.
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