Misty Copeland Calls for More Inclusive Ballet Slipper Emojis, Sparking Racial Debate

They’re giving their tights a twist.

Critics are attacking star dancer Misty Copeland, who started a petition to add more inclusive color tones to Apple’s traditional pink ballet slipper emoji.

Copeland, 41, the first Black woman to become a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, posted about the initiative to her 1.8 million Instagram followers on Sept. 21, explaining that ballet began in 15th-century Italy for the white elite and their shoes are pink to match their light skin color.

Critics say the pioneering dancer sees racism where it doesn’t exist, posting comments like “It’s an emoji, OMG” and “Pink is not a skin color.”

Another did not dwell on the issue and wrote: “You are creating a racist pseudo-problem.”

“I think this is going too far,” wrote Abby Marie Johnson, who said Copeland supporters pressured her to delete her comment.

Critics are calling out dancer Misty Copeland, who started a petition to add more inclusive color tones to Apple’s pink ballet slipper emoji. LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS – stock.adobe.com Copeland is the first black woman to become a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. EPA Copeland is requesting that the spike emoji be more inclusive. emojipedia.com

“People responded to me by saying I was a privileged white girl who didn’t understand it, when in reality I was a foster child, abandoned from house to house, and most of my foster siblings were black,” said Johnson, 28. . a one-year-old Norfolk, Virginia, resident told The Post.

“I just think it’s nonsense. When I see the ballet shoe, I think of a ballerina. She is not attributed any color,” she added.

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“For me it wasn’t about race, I felt like it was annoying to add more and more emojis to make everyone in the world feel good. They are emojis. “They don’t defend who we are.”

Virginian Abby Marie Johnson commented on Copeland’s post, “I think this is too far,” and was forced to delete it.

Copeland, who is married to attorney Olu Evans, a cousin of actor Taye Diggs, and lives in an Upper West Side condo that costs more than $3 million, also sparked comments such as “clearly a sign of primetime privilege issues.” world”.

Daphney Hewitt, who is black and danced for nearly a decade, sees nothing wrong with pink pointe shoes, which were “meant to fit the original dancers.”

“The world does not have to always adapt or conform to the politics of black Americans,” he commented on Copeland’s post about the petition, which now has more than 22,000 signatures.

New Jersey native Fola Walker defended Copeland’s campaign. Amy Donner

Fola Walker, a native of Franklin Park, New Jersey, defended Copeland, arguing “something as simple as an emoji change and a group of white people telling him he should shut up.”

“I was surprised that people would get angry over something so small,” Walker, 30, who was on the Rutgers University dance team, told The Post. “It was very absurd.”

Fábio Mariano, co-founder of social media platform Blacks in Ballet, said detractors don’t realize the importance of this seemingly trivial step.

Co-founder of social media platform Blacks in Ballet, Fábio Mariano, said people may not realize the importance of this seemingly small step. Courtesy of Fábio Mariano Apple has not yet commented on Copeland’s request. Future Publishing via Getty Images

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“It’s like when brown kids went to the store and only saw white Barbies. It didn’t hurt them directly,” Mariano, a professional dancer who lives in Memphis, Tennessee, told The Post.

“But when they saw that brown Barbie, that made a big difference. And it’s the same thing now, they don’t see it, so it’s not a big deal, but once they see it, they’ll realize how important that little thing is.”

Copeland and Apple declined to comment.

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Source: vtt.edu.vn

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