KOZHIKODE: The Vadakara cooperative hospital on Monday apologised for putting up a board of multiple Oscar winning Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman to advertise its skin treatment facilities. The board, carrying the face of the African-American actor, listed facilities like removal of skin tags, warts, milia and molluscum. The board invited severe criticism on social media for its racial and body shaming tones, forcing the hospital to remove the same and issue an apology.
“The board is a blot on the much revered cooperative sector of the state. Those who lifted the picture of Morgan from the internet failed to identify the Oscar winning actor and went by his skin colour, the rashes on his face and his African-American heritage,” Sree Parvathy, a writer, wrote on Facebook. She also listed the numerous awards and recognition that the ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ actor has won in a bid to “introduce the actor.”
Film critic G P Ramachandran was among those who shared the post which went viral. Several film buffs called the hospital authorities directly to vent their anger. T Sunil, the marketing manager of the hospital, told TNIE that it was a mistake stemmed out of ignorance.
“The picture was taken from the internet and the board displayed near the casualty on January 26 (Wednesday). When we came to know about the gaffe, it was removed on Saturday. The hospital has issue an apology on its Facebook page. There was no intention to defame the great actor,” Sunil said. The critics welcomed the hospital’s move to correct the mistake.