The ongoing struggle for racial equality has been well documented and Dayana Yastremska tried to give show support for the cause and movement but she did it in a controversial way which prompted much criticism. The post was made yesterday and in it, the 20-year old tennis star posted a picture of herself with half of her face darkened with the other being white. The act is known as "blackfacing" has been causing major uproar recently with it being branded offensive and racist.
Naturally, such a social media post garnered widespread criticism calling Yastremska ignorant and insensitive. And indeed it's an interesting way to show support particularly after similar instances have been widely condemned. Because of that Yastremska decided to delete the post and release a statement claiming to never want to offend anyone. While it's surely an honest mistake by Dayana she should have known better as "blackfacing" has been in the spotlight for some time.
Her full statement reads:
“Earlier today I posted pictures that I thought would spread a message of equality. It clearly did not and has been misunderstood. I have been warned about the negative impact but I did not — and still don’t — consider it a ‘blackface. I did not intend to caricature but to share my feelings about the current situation: we should all be treated as equals.I am so disappointed my message has been corrupted. I sincerely apologize to all the people I have offended."
https://twitter.com/D_Yastremska/status/1281333280080637952