Snapchat has come under fire over one of its animated selfie lenses that turned people into Asian anime caricatures, reports Mic.
The lense, which has since been permanently removed from the app, depicted a face with closed eyes and raised eyebrows. After discovering the lense, people quickly took to Twitter to call it "overly-racist" and "yellowface."
@Snapchat @snapchatsupport idk if u realize, but this filter is yellowface and u should take it down pic.twitter.com/MLSHz0Bbkl
Dear @Snapchat , thanks for the overly-racist new filter...when can we expect Blackface? pic.twitter.com/vKZn18NDYM
Hey @Snapchat what's with continually creating #racist filters targeting Asians? #snapchat #racism #wtf pic.twitter.com/5faI1ptTt0
Snapchat told Business Insider that the lense was inspired by anime and intended to be playful.
This isn't the first time Snapchat has received blowback over its selfie lenses. The company was met with similar outcry after it released a Bob Marley filter on April 20.