Ashton’s ‘Indian’ chip ads ‘racist’

May 04, 2012 - Yoshita Singh |

New York

A potato chip ad featuring actor Ashton Kutcher dressed up as a dark-skinned Bollywood producer “Raj” and talking with an Indian accent has been attacked for being racist by social media users. Kutcher appears in the “Popchips” ad as four different characters looking for a partner in a dating show. One is as 39-year-old Raj, a “Bollywood producer looking for the most delicious thing on the planet”, the actor says with an Indian accent.

Kutcher’s face is done up with heavy brown makeup. He is seen wearing a blue embroidered sherwani, sports a moustache, a big gold watch and a ring. The dark-haired Raj also has a black mole on his cheek.
Kutcher is also seen as the very British “Nigel”, and as tattooed Southerner “Swordfish” and fashionista “Darl”.
“Popchips” later apologised for showing Mr Kutcher in a brown face. The ad does not appear to have gone down well with people, who flocked to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to dub it racist and in bad taste. The ad has been pulled off from some websites after viewers objected.

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