Naomi Osaka is hopeful she’s kept in the loop next time her sponsors want to portray her in an ad.
Nissin Foods Holdings, one of the tennis star’s biggest sponsors, released an advertisement featuring Osaka with pale skin. The ad has since been removed and the 21-year-old hopes advertisers will ask for her input in the future.
“I’ve talked to them. They’ve apologized,” Osaka said, per Sports Illustrated. “I’m tan. It’s pretty obvious. But I definitely think that the next time they try to portray me or something, I feel like they should talk to me about it.”
Below is the image in question:
Naomi Osaka: Nissin apologises for whitening tennis star's face in advert https://t.co/aWDWSiIft2
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 23, 2019
Despite the backlash Nissin Foods has faced, Osaka said she’s focused on her game.
”I’m just focused on this right now,” she said. “I’ve gotten to the final of a slam, and that’s sort of my main priority.”
A spokesman for the company released a statement on the matter, noting the company’s “stance of valuing diversity is unchanged.”
In the Australian Open semifinals Thursday, Osaka beat Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
