Padma Lakshmi, the longtime host and executive producer of “Top Chef,” recently spoke out against such products, and in a phone interview said that colorism permeated her childhood in India. “These things also come at you at a very vulnerable time in your life when you’re worried about your appearance,” she said. The preference for fairness in South Asia is also perpetuated through Bollywood movies and celebrities. The industry has also long favored lighter-skinned actors and has employed brownface in several films. Priyanka Chopra Jonas is among several Bollywood celebrities who have faced an online backlash recently over their previous endorsements of fairness creams.

Source: New York Times June 26, 2020 00:56 UTC