Russian Socialite Is Forced To Replace 'Racist' Picture After Receiving Huge Public Backlash

Guys, do you find this picture offensive?

This photo, taken recently, features Russian socialite and Garage Magazine Editor-In-Chief, Dasha Zhukova, sitting on top of a black female mannequin fashioned like a chair. The picture of Zhukova was taken for an interview she recently completed with the Russian artist, Miroslava Duma, for her site Buro 247.  

Zhukova, who is described by Wikipedia as a “celebutante, philanthropist, and entrepreneur,” sits calmly atop a chair supported by a nearly naked, extremely life-like black female mannequin, who strains to support her. The image was said to be jarring, upsetting and very offensive by several publications.

The mannequin is said to be inspired by or part of a collection of furniture by Allen Jones that features mannequins dressed as strippers.

Journalist Veronical Wells writes, "The whole thing is problematic really. It’s the intersection of racism and sexism. Why feature scantily clad women as furniture? As a woman I’m wondering how Zhukova, a woman, could sit on the chair comfortably without feeling a tinge of apprehension. Perhaps she did.

Maybe she wouldn’t have if the mannequin had been white and more relatable to her as a Russian. Who knows. Either way, she  posed for the photograph.
The image caused controversy after Duma, posted the picture on her Instagram account. She was met with backlash and decided to remove it."

Buro 247 site must have been overwhelmed by the less than excited response around the web, the site cropped out the mannequin in the image, and now shows Dasha Zhukova sitting on a chair made of a woman’s legs.