Snapchat marked 420 (celebrating cannabis culture) with a filter letting users don the dreadlocks of Rastafarian icon Bob Marley.
As Huffington Post reported, a spokeswoman for Snapchat said the filter was created in partnership with the Bob Marley Estate.
Suffering malignant melanoma, the Wailers reggae star died in 1981 in Miami at the age of 36.
“[It] gives people a new way to share their appreciation for Bob Marley and his music,” the spokeswoman said. “Millions of Snapchatters have enjoyed Bob Marley’s music, and we respect his life and achievements.”
But: “A number of people are outraged by the filter, which adds dreadlocks to your head and makes your face appear darker and more angular.” And: “Snapchat did not respond when HuffPost asked about whether the filter would remain as an option. It was introduced on April 20, or 4/20, a national holiday of sorts for stoners. It’s likely to be temporary.”
People weren’t filtered on the filter:
@Snapchat take the bob Marley filter down. It’s blackface and it’s offensive.
— willy (@_fdollaz) April 20, 2016
The most racist celebration of 420 so far today comes from… Snapchat https://t.co/AeSeDafvHA
— WIRED (@WIRED) April 20, 2016
You all know damn well snapchat wasn’t brainstorming ideas for that filter like “I know! Let’s be racist and do blackface”
— nipslip (@raysip13) April 20, 2016
.@Snapchat NO YOU DIDN’T JUST SLANDER BOB MARLEY!!! Who the hell is running your “filter room”? Who told you blackface was a good idea? WTF
— DanielleMoodie-Mills (@DeeTwoCents) April 20, 2016
Snapchat’s half-baked 420 nod is a Bob Marley blackface filter?! Dude was Jamaican! Did waaaay more than smoke weed. pic.twitter.com/t6tazxnMxT
— Brian Ries (@moneyries) April 20, 2016
the bob marley snapchat filter is literally blackface like….. can this not happen? can we delete this?
— sammy? (@YVSCKO) April 20, 2016