Claudia Schiffer Pisses People Off

There has been a lot of controversy surrounded by this picture of Claudia Schiffer made up like a black woman. The photo was shot by Karl Lagerfeld as part of a Dom Perignon ad campaign. Although shot two years ago, the picture hit the Internet this month prompting accusations of racial insensitivity. Some have even accused that by doing so, Schiffer and Lagerfeld have taken work away from a black model. Says Shevelle Rhule, fashion editor of Pride magazine, "It shows poor taste and it's offensive...There are not enough women of colour featured in mainstream magazines. This suggests that you can counteract the problem by using two black models." Rhule compares the photo to minstrel shows, and adds that though she does not believe it was set out to offend, it was thoughtless.

Claudia defends the photographs, a statement from her rep reads; "The images were designed to reflect different men's fantasies. They were done very creatively and they are some of Karl Lagerfeld's favourite images of Claudia. People should not jump to conclusions."

It has also been pointed out that on shows like America's Next Top Model making models up to look like different ethnicities has been used to express creativity before without any media backlash. What is the difference here? Is it because Claudia is an archetypal Aryan?

Message boards are absolutely flooded with opinions on both side from people of all different ethnic backgrounds. In the media, it seems fashionable to condemn the aforementioned pictures. It's difficult to decide how I feel about them. On the one hand, they seem to be beautiful creative shots that mean no offense, and on the other it seems that if they are hurtful to a group of people some sensitivity should be shown. I will say this in regards to the comparison they draw with minstrel shows; minstrel shows made a mockery of black people, they aren't funny and they are horribly offensive. To me, this picture of Claudia does not do that, she is made to look strong and beautiful. I also disagree with claims that the shoot took work away from a black model, because Claudia Schiffer was hired because she is Claudia Schiffer. I very much doubt that Lagerfeld had in his mind that he wanted a black model, but would rather hire a white one so they dressed Claudia up to play the part.

What do you think? Are Schiffer and Lagerfeld way out of line and insensitive, or are some being hyper-sensitive about something that they needn't raise an issue out of?