John Boyega Resigns From Jo Malone Ambassador Role Over Chinese Ad

The Star Wars actor John Boyega resigned from Jo Malone ambassador role after making a personal video in London for the perfume brand, but it was re-shot for the Chinese market.

Boyega said Jo Malone was wrong to have used another actor without his consent or prior notice.

The British actor wrote on his twitter, “I have decided to step down as Jo Malone’s global ambassador. When I joined the brand as their first male global ambassador last year, I created the short film we used to launch the campaign. It won the Fragrance Foundation Virtual awards 2020 for Best Media Campaign.”

“The film celebrated my personal story – showcasing my hometown, including my friends and featuring my family,” he added. “It’s back to back, but I assure you this will be dealt with swiftly. I don’t have time for nonsense. We press on and strong. Stay blessed, people.”

However, the perfume brand company, Jo Malone, owned by Estee Lauder, has apologized for what he described as a misstep that caused offense and has since removed the advert from its campaign in China.

“We deeply apologize for what, on our end, was a mistake in the local execution of the John Boyega campaign,” they said in a statement on Monday.

The recreated advert followed the same script but featured Chinese star Liu Haoran instead of Boyega.

The initial version, titled London Gent, showed Boyega hanging out with friends and family in Peckham, where he grew up. They were also removed for Chinese audiences.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Jo Malone London said: “John is a tremendous artist with great personal vision and direction. The concept for the film was based on John’s personal experiences and should not have been replicated.

“While we immediately took action and removed the local version of the campaign, we recognize that this was painful, and that offense was caused,” it added. “We respect John and support our partners and fans globally. We are taking this misstep very seriously, and we are working together as a brand to do better moving forward.”