Chinese e-commerce sites have removed Dolce & Gabbana products amid a spiraling backlash against an advertising campaign that was decried as racist by celebrities and on social media.
The ads — released earlier this week to drum up interest in a Shanghai fashion show the Italian brand later canceled — featured a Chinese woman struggling to eat spaghetti and pizza with chopsticks, sparking criticism from consumers.
The blunder was compounded when screenshots were circulated online of a private Instagram conversation, in which the brand's designer, Stefano Gabbana, makes a reference to "China Ignorant Dirty Smelling Mafia" and uses the smiling poo emoji to describe the country. The brand said Gabbana's account had been hacked.