“The model didn’t match our storyboard” – Video director replies model who said artist rejected her over skin colour

The video director was accused alongside his artist by a model who was rejected because of her skin colour says model didn’t match the storyboard.

Recall that a young model identified as Ewa took to her page online to lament after she was rejected at a movie set for not being light-skinned. 

According to the model, the artist selected her for the shoot. However, upon getting to set for the shooting, the artist changed his mind saying she can not shoot because he wanted a light-skinned model.

The lady tweeted, “8 am on Sunday, I left my house in Ikeja to the set of my at Lekki. Some minutes after noon, the artiste arrived on set and said he changed his mind. He wants a light-skinned model because my skin tone ‘doesn’t fit the aesthetic’.

In response to the accusation, the video director has disclosed that the model wasn’t rejected because of her skin colour but because she did not match the storyboard and vision of the video shoot.

According to the video director, he checked all the portfolios of the models for the shoot before he selected them but realized that Ewa, the model who called them out did not fit the vision for the video shoot hence had to drop her and look for a new model.

He however debunked the allegations that the model was rejected due to her skin colour.

He tweeted, “This is such a heartbreaking and false narrative. As a video director, I carefully selected models for this shoot (through an agency) based on their online portfolio and pictures but the reality was starkly different. The model didn’t match the vision or the storyboard.

so I had to make the difficult decision to request another model. This had nothing to do with skin color, as I value diversity and inclusivity. I even took out time to speak to her and compensated her for her time. It’s disheartening to see this narrative being twisted into an issue of skin color. Let’s focus on celebrating talent, professionalism, and the power of visual storytelling.”

so I had to make the difficult decision to request another model. This had nothing to do with skin color, as I value diversity and inclusivity. I even took out time to speak to her and compensated her for her time. It's disheartening to see this narrative being twisted into an…

— Bushboy (@bushboymarc) May 31, 2023