Chinese model Zuo Ye says ‘racist’ Dolce & Gabbana advert ‘almost ruined her career’

'I would never show any disrespect to my motherland'

The Chinese model who starred in a controversial Dolce & Gabbana advertisement has broken her silence to apologise, adding that the campaign “almost ruined” her career.

Speaking out for the first time since November, when the fashion house was forced to apologise over accusations of racism, model Zuo Ye claimed that she received threats, online attacks and harassment following the outcry.

Two months later, Zuo Ye, has written a post on the social media network Weibo to say she had not given enough thought to the content of the video and felt “very guilty and ashamed”.

“Personally I would never show any disrespect to my motherland. I love my country and feel proud to be able to represent China on the catwalk,” she wrote.

“I will draw a lesson from this and show the Chinese in a better light. Again, I apologise to my fellow countrymen.”

The controversy began when D&G launched three promotional videos showing Ye struggling to eat Italian food with chopsticks.

The 40-second clips, which were posted on D&G's Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, were created to promote the Italian fashion powerhouse’s campaign “DG Loves China” ahead of a fashion show in Shanghai last November.

Ye was filmed attempting to pick up pizza, spaghetti and a giant version of a cannoli pastry to the sound of stereotypical Chinese music.

However, the campaign backfired after viewers accused the brand of racial stereotyping, followed by the leak of a social media message sent by D&G co-founder Stefano Gabbana, in which he apparently described China as a “country of s***”.

The ensuing uproar caused the cancellation of the impending fashion show while celebrities, distributors and consumers also boycotted the brand.

Ye also suffered abuse from social media users who accused her of “making money by insulting your own country” and “vilifying the image of the Chinese”.

In the statement published on Monday, the model said she decided to stay quiet when the controversy began so as not to provoke further conflict, but now wanted to set the record straight.

She said she had hoped that working with a major fashion brand like D&G would propel her career, but instead the campaign had “almost completely ruined” it.

“As a Chinese model working overseas, being able to work with any top brand, regardless of whether its D&G or anyone else, is positive (for your) career,” Ye wrote.

“But I didn't anticipate that the cooperation with this brand would almost ruin my modelling career.”

The model went on to explain that she had been told the shoot was going to be a “fun video” involving Italian food but that it turned out to be different from what she initially expected.

Ye also said she questioned the choice of chopsticks on the set but was told to follow instructions.

"I couldn’t do it in the first try and I asked, ‘Are you kidding me? With chopsticks?’ The director said ‘Yes! I know it’s hard. Just try to do that'," she wrote.

“I felt awkward when using chopsticks for food that was larger than the normal size. I seldom laugh in my daily life but the shooting required a lot of extravagant acting and I felt very uncomfortable, too.”

Ye concluded her post by expressing guilt at the online backlash and said that, as an ordinary model, she was not given permission to watch or have an opinion on the finished product before it was released.

The founders of the Italian fashion label apologised to fans with a video on social media following the backlash.

“Our families have always taught us to respect the various cultures of the world, and for this, we want to apologise if we have made mistakes in interpreting your culture,” said Dolce, speaking in Italian.

“We have always loved China; we have visited many cities ... and certainly we still have much to learn.”

In the subtitled video, Gabbana adds: “We offer our sincerest apologies to Chinese people worldwide.”

The designers explained that they had taken the backlash “very seriously” and reassured fans that nothing like this would ever happen again.