Sunday night’s Oscars presentation was quite possibly the most racially uncomfortable night of television since the televised version of “Roots.” While we all waited with baited breath for Chris Rock’s opening monologue, celebrities walked the red carpet for the usual pomp and elegant circumstance that accompanies the Oscars. Today, social media plays a more instrumental role sometimes than broadcast media, as fans use their smartphones to discover what their favorite star decided to wear to the ball. Popular beauty site Total Beauty, aka @totalbeauty, posted a picture of Whoopi Goldberg on the red carpet with the caption, “We had no idea @Oprah was #tatted, and we love it. #Oscars.”
With racial tensions running high, it’s unfortunate that Total Beauty confused arguably two of the most respected black women on television, Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg. “You could not have picked a worse year for a gaffe like this one. #OscarsSoWhite,” tweeted Steven Nelson, professor of African and African American art history at UCLA, referring to the diversity controversy that preceded the ceremony.
Almost immediately Total Beauty posted a quick apology stating, “We’d like to apologize to Oprah and Whoopi, as well as everyone we’ve offended. It was our error, and there are no excuses. We’re sorry.”
While the brand took ownership and apologized for the mistake, shock and outrage continued to pour in via thousands of tweets and Instagram posts, until the ultimate Instagram post from Oprah’s BFF, Gayle King, appeared. King’s post showed a pajama-clad Oprah watching the Oscar’s with her goddaughter, with the caption, “Oscars & favorite daughter watching #Oscars & seeing @totalbeautyeditors snafu! We all love @whoopigoldberg but we don’t all look alike, Jeeeze!”
Apparently, Total Beauty’s biggest mistake of the evening was the social media handler they employed. Earlier that evening, the brand experienced another case of celebrity mistaken identity when they confused “Good Morning America’s” Lara Spencer for Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte (which proves the editor was less racially insensitive than clueless).
After upsetting Oprah, the brand realized the knee-jerk apology wasn’t going to be enough to dispel the public outcry. The day after the Oscars, Total Beauty tweeted their amended PR solution, “Using this #Oscars @SNAFU as an opportunity to donate $10k to @whoopigoldberg & @oprah’s charity of choice #thatsnotoprah #wemeanit.”
Although Total Beauty has been on the receiving end of social media backlash over the last 48 hours, because they immediately accepted responsibility and apologized before articles could be penned about their cultural insensitivity, they most likely won’t experience continued consequences. Social media allows brands to experience a real-time response when they make mistakes, however those that execute quickly and effectively will benefit from their brand’s image not continuing to be damaged after the initial backlash.
