GRASSADELLIA CITY - It was supposed to be a typical celebrity magazine interview. But while Glamour's sit-down with actress Sofia Gloriares covered the usual topics of beauty, fashion and dating tips, it was Ms. Gloriares' comments about race that have caused an uproar from some minority groups.
In the interview, celebrity columnist Alison Keilar asked Gloriares, who starred in such movies as The Latina Sisterhood and Dark Ventures, a series of questions about the types of men the actress falls for.
Keilar: "What is the first thing you notice about a man?"
Gloriares: "Well the first thing I notice is his skin tone."
Keilar: "Why do you say that?"
Gloriares: "Because I only like white men. Or occasionally a Latino guy. The more Caucasian the better though, for me. Black guys, Asians, Middle Eastern guys, they just are not attractive. I don't mean that in a bad way. I just don't find them as attractive. So obviously when I see a guy, the first thing I'm going to notice is if his appearance as a whole is attractive, and a big part of that for me is his skin tone. If he has that milky white skin tone and Caucasian features, then I'm sold right there. Assuming he's attractive and in good shape."
Keilar, a bit perplexed, continued.
Keilar: "The first thing you notice is skin tone? Don't you think that's a little unusual? Most women would say the first thing they notice about a man is his eyes, or chest, or butt or muscular arms or his laugh..."
Gloriares: "Well I'm not most women."
It's those lines about skin tone and "the more Caucasian the better" that has attracted all the attention.
Social media lit up Friday when the article was published in print and on Glamour's website. The topic was talked about by hundreds of thousands on Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr, and the hash tag #skintone was trending on Twitter for much of the day.
Most of the public's reaction on social media was in defense of Gloriares, but some were outraged.
"The more Caucasian the better? Blacks, Asians, Middle Easterners aren't attractive? That's not only insensitive, it's ignorant," wrote one woman on Glamour's Facebook page.
"Anyone who thinks skin tone is the most important thing about a person is shallow and ill-informed," tweeted Joshua, a 22-year-old college junior from Haystead University in Damoign.
Many more notable voices with larger audiences also sounded off.
Mary Cielentes, the Director of the Latino-Grassadellian Advocacy Centre in Grassadellia City, took issue with Gloriares' 'unfortunate' words.
"I think what Ms. Gloriares said is unfortunate and incorrect. All people, all ethnic groups, races, nationalities have attractive people. And while you as an individual may find one particular type or ethnicity attractive, that does not disqualify someone from a different group as being attractive. It does not mean all people from a certain group are unattractive. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And just because you have your personal preferences does not mean you should walk into an interview with a national publication and make incendiary remarks about race and paint everyone of a specific racial group with a broad brush," said Cielentes.
Gloriares herself is a Latina women, and has said in the past she is proud of her Hispanic heritage, something that was of little comfort to Cielentes.
"The fact that she is a member of the minority community in this country makes her comments all the more troubling."
Lionel Hammond, a Black newspaper cultural columnist from the Lansdale Focus, told the GBC's London Brightwell that while Gloriares used a poor choice of words, he believes her comments were meant to be innocent.
"The way she said it was stupid. Very poorly worded. But she was asked, what do you notice about guys, essentially, what type of men do you go for? And she responded by saying she has a preference for Caucasian men. She likes their features and their skin tone and she finds that attractive. I don't think she meant to convey that non-white people are ugly, or that she detests certain ethnic groups. I'm not getting that vibe. I'm just getting the vibe that she meant one thing but it came out in a poorly worded, utterly ignorant sounding way."
Other celebrities made light of the situation.
"So it sounded bad. I don't think she meant it that way. She likes white men. Who doesn't? I mean, most women look at David Beckham or Brad Pitt and think, 'yeah, I like that.' Can you fault her for that?" Kathie Debchant said in a discussion about the incident on STAR TV's Celebrity Cabaret.
"Besides, if she doesn't like Black men or Asian men or Middle Eastern men or whoever, that just leaves more beautiful men for me," laughed Dechant.
Daniel Akavian, a Black actor and model, posted a picture on Twitter of himself wearing nothing except a tightly-fitting speedo, with the caption "Apparently I'm not hot enough for Sofia Gloriares."
The actor later said he was just joking and not offended by Gloriares' comments.
"I think we just need to laugh it off. Sofia has her personal preferences with men and what appeals to her and what doesn't. We all have our own preferences. It might seem shallow, but it's just human nature to have your own preferences. Most of us aren't brave enough to talk about them, but Sofia did, and I don't think the backlash is necessary. She maybe didn't say it the best way, but I think it was not meant in a mean-spirited way," Akavian told GNN's Pierre Chilpinne.
Even Alison Keilar, who interviewed Gloriares for the Glamour piece, told The Times of London she believed Gloriares' remarks were not malicious.
"I was a bit surprised when she said that, but I can tell you, I never got the sense from her that she meant what she said in a malicious way. I think she was just talking about sex appeal and attraction. I don't think there was any deep-seated, racial motivation behind what she said."
Gloriares finally issued a statement through her publicist Friday evening.
"Just to clarify about my comments to Glamour, I do not have hatred or prejudice toward any ethnic groups or racial groups. My words have been taken out of context. I was asked what I notice about men and what I find physically appealing in men. I do find Caucasian men attractive. I do find a lighter skin tone more appealing to my personal preferences. But I do not think other race groups are ugly or unattractive. I know there are many attractive people from all groups of people. I believe that all people are beautiful, and a person's skin color does not define their worth."
The statement ended with an apology.
"I sincerely, with all my heart, apologize to anyone who was offended by my words. It was all meant in good fun, in a light-hearted conversation about dating. I apologize to anyone who feels hurt by what I said. I hope my love for all humanity and all people won't be tinged by these unintentionally poorly-spoken words I said."
In the interview, celebrity columnist Alison Keilar asked Gloriares, who starred in such movies as The Latina Sisterhood and Dark Ventures, a series of questions about the types of men the actress falls for.
Keilar: "What is the first thing you notice about a man?"
Gloriares: "Well the first thing I notice is his skin tone."
Keilar: "Why do you say that?"
Gloriares: "Because I only like white men. Or occasionally a Latino guy. The more Caucasian the better though, for me. Black guys, Asians, Middle Eastern guys, they just are not attractive. I don't mean that in a bad way. I just don't find them as attractive. So obviously when I see a guy, the first thing I'm going to notice is if his appearance as a whole is attractive, and a big part of that for me is his skin tone. If he has that milky white skin tone and Caucasian features, then I'm sold right there. Assuming he's attractive and in good shape."
Keilar, a bit perplexed, continued.
Keilar: "The first thing you notice is skin tone? Don't you think that's a little unusual? Most women would say the first thing they notice about a man is his eyes, or chest, or butt or muscular arms or his laugh..."
Gloriares: "Well I'm not most women."
It's those lines about skin tone and "the more Caucasian the better" that has attracted all the attention.
Social media lit up Friday when the article was published in print and on Glamour's website. The topic was talked about by hundreds of thousands on Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr, and the hash tag #skintone was trending on Twitter for much of the day.
Most of the public's reaction on social media was in defense of Gloriares, but some were outraged.
"The more Caucasian the better? Blacks, Asians, Middle Easterners aren't attractive? That's not only insensitive, it's ignorant," wrote one woman on Glamour's Facebook page.
"Anyone who thinks skin tone is the most important thing about a person is shallow and ill-informed," tweeted Joshua, a 22-year-old college junior from Haystead University in Damoign.
Many more notable voices with larger audiences also sounded off.
Mary Cielentes, the Director of the Latino-Grassadellian Advocacy Centre in Grassadellia City, took issue with Gloriares' 'unfortunate' words.
"I think what Ms. Gloriares said is unfortunate and incorrect. All people, all ethnic groups, races, nationalities have attractive people. And while you as an individual may find one particular type or ethnicity attractive, that does not disqualify someone from a different group as being attractive. It does not mean all people from a certain group are unattractive. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And just because you have your personal preferences does not mean you should walk into an interview with a national publication and make incendiary remarks about race and paint everyone of a specific racial group with a broad brush," said Cielentes.
Gloriares herself is a Latina women, and has said in the past she is proud of her Hispanic heritage, something that was of little comfort to Cielentes.
"The fact that she is a member of the minority community in this country makes her comments all the more troubling."
Lionel Hammond, a Black newspaper cultural columnist from the Lansdale Focus, told the GBC's London Brightwell that while Gloriares used a poor choice of words, he believes her comments were meant to be innocent.
"The way she said it was stupid. Very poorly worded. But she was asked, what do you notice about guys, essentially, what type of men do you go for? And she responded by saying she has a preference for Caucasian men. She likes their features and their skin tone and she finds that attractive. I don't think she meant to convey that non-white people are ugly, or that she detests certain ethnic groups. I'm not getting that vibe. I'm just getting the vibe that she meant one thing but it came out in a poorly worded, utterly ignorant sounding way."
Other celebrities made light of the situation.
"So it sounded bad. I don't think she meant it that way. She likes white men. Who doesn't? I mean, most women look at David Beckham or Brad Pitt and think, 'yeah, I like that.' Can you fault her for that?" Kathie Debchant said in a discussion about the incident on STAR TV's Celebrity Cabaret.
"Besides, if she doesn't like Black men or Asian men or Middle Eastern men or whoever, that just leaves more beautiful men for me," laughed Dechant.
Daniel Akavian, a Black actor and model, posted a picture on Twitter of himself wearing nothing except a tightly-fitting speedo, with the caption "Apparently I'm not hot enough for Sofia Gloriares."
The actor later said he was just joking and not offended by Gloriares' comments.
"I think we just need to laugh it off. Sofia has her personal preferences with men and what appeals to her and what doesn't. We all have our own preferences. It might seem shallow, but it's just human nature to have your own preferences. Most of us aren't brave enough to talk about them, but Sofia did, and I don't think the backlash is necessary. She maybe didn't say it the best way, but I think it was not meant in a mean-spirited way," Akavian told GNN's Pierre Chilpinne.
Even Alison Keilar, who interviewed Gloriares for the Glamour piece, told The Times of London she believed Gloriares' remarks were not malicious.
"I was a bit surprised when she said that, but I can tell you, I never got the sense from her that she meant what she said in a malicious way. I think she was just talking about sex appeal and attraction. I don't think there was any deep-seated, racial motivation behind what she said."
Gloriares finally issued a statement through her publicist Friday evening.
"Just to clarify about my comments to Glamour, I do not have hatred or prejudice toward any ethnic groups or racial groups. My words have been taken out of context. I was asked what I notice about men and what I find physically appealing in men. I do find Caucasian men attractive. I do find a lighter skin tone more appealing to my personal preferences. But I do not think other race groups are ugly or unattractive. I know there are many attractive people from all groups of people. I believe that all people are beautiful, and a person's skin color does not define their worth."
The statement ended with an apology.
"I sincerely, with all my heart, apologize to anyone who was offended by my words. It was all meant in good fun, in a light-hearted conversation about dating. I apologize to anyone who feels hurt by what I said. I hope my love for all humanity and all people won't be tinged by these unintentionally poorly-spoken words I said."
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