Today I received a message from one of my Parisian homegirls inviting friends to a boycott of beauty and perfume brand Guerlain:
Why? Apparently master perfumer Jean Paul Guerlain used a racial slur while being interviewed on television station France 2. When talking about working on a fragrance, he said “I put myself to work like a [n-word]. I don’t know if the [n-words] have always worked hard, but…” ["Je me suis mis à travailler comme un nègre. Je ne sais pas si les Nègres ont toujours tellement travaillé mais enfin..."]
The actual word he used was nègre, which, translated, could mean anything from negro to coon to the n-word.
Here’s the video (in French):
The facebook invite says (and I paraphrase), “Call to all. Boycott products by Guerlain. I would encourage you to no longer buy their products in view of this racism. It’s very serious. He’s denying the value of the work of the black man! We’re fighting for a post racial society! We will have a silent protest in front of Guerlain on Saturday October 23rd at 3pm, if you have Guerlain products, bring them. We’ll all be dressed in black.”
One thing the French know how to do is protest. This should be interesting.
To read the French version, click here.
October 19, 2010 6:25 pm
you know what, just throw the mothafcka in the casket already.
some people just should not be allowed to talk if theyre diagnosed with senile dementia.
its very serious
October 19, 2010 6:30 pm
Shame on him and i have always loved his perfumes… but i truly may not be able to stop using his perfumes, i have one at moment… but shame on him
October 19, 2010 6:51 pm
shame…how did it jump to the black man though? black women are never counted. say black means man, say minority, means men, say women, means white women. jeez
October 19, 2010 8:26 pm
“He’s denying the value of the work of the black man!”
I’m more curious about why any type of racial fight is only for black men and not men and women.
October 19, 2010 8:35 pm
So he basically said he had to work like a slave to do what he did…but then took a step back and said that modern day black men don’t work very much? Am I understanding this correctly?
October 19, 2010 8:57 pm
Claire, do you have the entire statement? I am interested in reading it in it’s entirety.
@JustSayin, what he is saying is he worked as hard as a slave and then questioned how hard slaves actually worked.
@giii, REALLY??? I was gonna go in but I refuse to waste my energy.
@Vonnie and Beauty Is Diverse, according to the English translation Guerlain didn’t say man he said slaves. The Facebook Invite translated it to man. What does that matter anyway? THE MAN is referring to BLACK PEOPLE PERIOD!!!
I CAN’T.
October 19, 2010 9:13 pm
My translation. Context: He was talking about creating a perfume for a client. He said, “Madame, ‘What scents would seduce you in a perfume?’ She says, “I like jasmine, rose, and sandal.” He replied “For the first time, I worked like a negro. I don’t know if a negro has ever worked that hard, but…at the end of the 33rd try, I thought it smelled good enough for her to try. And she immediately adopted it. I continued to work, still, but she said, dear, it’s the 33rd that was good. I don’t know why you continued to work. And that was the biggest success of the house.”
October 19, 2010 9:22 pm
I thought the caption said Jean Paul Gaultier. I almost started crying. Mr. Gaultier has always been good to models of color and he is a genuinely great. I was going to say WHY MR. GAULTIER? WHY???? lol
Phew!
As for this jerk, are we surprised??? as some African who has been to France on multiple occassions and has friends still living in France, I’m not surprised. They should definitely boycott this fool.
October 19, 2010 9:26 pm
PS According to Facebook 805 people are attending this boycott and they’re not all black. It’s clear that the message was not lost in translation…(even my bad one).
October 19, 2010 9:31 pm
I agree with Vonnie and Beauty is Diverse! Why is this solely an attack on a black man shouldn’t it be an attack on black people in general. But that is a damn shame, but it goes to show you racism is anywhere even in France so I hope some people take off their rose colored glasses….smh Hit him where he hurts the pockets
October 20, 2010 2:02 am
Hi everyone.
As an black woman living in Paris, I cannot describe the shock the whole community and beyond received when we hear Mr Guerlain’s words.
He was being interviewed on national TV in plain daylight at a time when lots of people watch the midday news.
He was on the set apparently to promote his memoirs to be published this week… and the journalist happened to ask him how he came to make his famous fragrance “Samsara”.
He replied: “[...] I began working like a nigger, Although I don’t know if niggers really ever worked that hard, but anyways…”.
We have launched a protest to arouse awareness all over the world in order to stop those people who think that they can slur our heritage whenever they want, on national TV and without consequences. Only one politician immediately responded, Minister of Economy Christine LAGARDE and one black journalist Audrey PULVAR who replied to Jean-Pierre GUERLAIN using the poet from Martinique: Aimé Cesaire “Le nègre il t’emmerde” (Well the nigger says f* you).
If you feel offended, please join our pacific group on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_121936267863591&ap=1
We will be boycotting Guerlain products as of now.
October 20, 2010 2:39 am
No comment by French government regarding this comments….why am I not surprised?
Black french girl
October 20, 2010 3:43 am
I PROUD TO BE A NEGRO GIRL !!!
October 20, 2010 6:20 am
@Cherokee
Of course it matters i’m not a man and saying black man does not represent me. Women fail to realize that just because someone says man doesn’t mean they care about issues are matters pertaining to women.
So I don’t see how boycotting a perfume that is geared and marketed towards “women” should be about denying the hard work & value of a” black man”
October 20, 2010 1:02 pm
Why are you suprised?…..Are you guys seriously suprised?……Many of the white designers DONT like black people and think very lowly of blacks… Many of the designers posted on this site….have said racial and offensive comments towards black people…Is just some are public…..Get a grip…Just because you see them put blacks or a black person advertising their product doesnt mean they even like blacks…We would have to boycott half of the designers..Black people are in a tirade something offensive is said about them..But forget we are our biggest enemy…..I am more worried about the Black man then the White man..
October 20, 2010 4:17 pm
@imaginemepink
I think the shock (and I speak for myself here) is that this man would have the audacity to say such things in a public forum. We are not naive enough to think that there are some designers who probably would not SPIT on a person of color if they were on fire, but to hear it said so unapologetically is disturbing. You may think it all you want, but when you say it out loud, you are crossing a line.
October 20, 2010 5:15 pm
I am very concerned at not only the comments but the interviewer’s lack of a reaction. I mean she smiled and continued the interview as though he was talking about the weather.
Not only should Guerlain’s comments be put in question, but also the interviewer’s professional career. I mean would she have reacted the same way if he had started to make anti-Semitic comments on air? Doubt it. This is the sort of behaviour that encourages ignorance to continue.
October 20, 2010 7:48 pm
Thanks Claire. No your message was not lost in translation. I just thought there might have been more to his comment.
@ Najora, Misnomer I totally agree.
@Miya, thanks for the info.
October 21, 2010 8:08 am
This coffin dodger did not! Why the hell would you say something like that? Ignorant prick. I CAN’T!
October 21, 2010 10:09 am
[...] to LVMH in 1994, and is no longer directly affiliated to the family. So it looks like perhaps the boycott is off? Read about Jean Paul’s initial comments here. AKPC_IDS += "44351,"; Share and [...]
October 21, 2010 10:25 am
[...] Courtesy of The Fashion Bomb (Blaynistas: It's Chic To [...]
October 23, 2010 7:46 pm
The root had an interesting article on it
http://www.theroot.com/buzz/french-perfumer-guerlain-drops-n-word-causes-scandale-0?ref=nf
October 24, 2010 12:22 pm
Mr Guerlain did not use the world nigger, but negro which means black in latin.The world nigger litteral translation in french is(moricaud).
By saying “j’ai bosse come in negre”, he meant he worked like a slave! however he also stating he doesn’t know if the negro ever worked.
In France racism is intistutional, being colored is a real issue. There are no laws like in the US to protect you. I’m finally glad to see the boycott of these people.
October 26, 2010 10:33 am
[...] a lot of people came together of all ages.” Take a look: Read the story behind the boycott here. Read LVMH’s response here. AKPC_IDS += "44753,"; Share and [...]
October 27, 2010 6:22 pm
[...] the author of this blog on the Fashion Bomb Daily.com website takes up the [...]
October 30, 2010 2:02 pm
[...] the beauty brand Guerlain due to racist comments made by Jean Paul Guerlain. The Fashion Bomb explains: When talking about working on a fragrance, he said “I put myself to work like a [n-word]. I [...]
November 2, 2010 6:33 am
[...] This is an article about a recent boycott and protest against the fashionable nd overpriced Guerlain cosmetics company in Paris. Jean Paul Guerlain, the company’s public fashion face and designer, made some “questionable” (that’s how French people refer to the n-word) comments here. Racial issues often get a pass in western Europe, whereas blatant xenophobia (and racism framed as xenophobia) is relatively common. Particularly in France, a country with a large population of Arab and black Africans. This time, though, driven almost entirely by non-mainstream coverage on indie fashion blogs, a boycott and protest was organized via Facebook events and pages and several other websites against Guerlain Paris. Though the boycott enjoys support from the entire web, the protests in person ended up being largely black French women. How about that. [...]
November 7, 2010 5:53 pm
Whether he said this in public or private the real question is why did he say it all? That’s what really throws me.