Nike's new ad featuring singer Annahstasia Enuke with unshaven armpits sparks massive online debate about beauty standards
Nike's new advertisement is definitely making waves, but probably not for the right reasons. In the comment section of the sportswear brand's new Instagram post, which features singer Annahstasia Enuke in a black sports bra, right arm stretched over her head, online users can't seem to keep calm about the singer's unshaven armpit.
Reps for the sportswear brand captioned the image "Big mood", which has since been liked over 171,000 times and sparked more than 180,000 comments. While a lot of users applauded Nike’s body-positive ad, there were quite a few who described the Nigerian-American songstress' underarm hair as "disgusting".
"That's disgusting. I get that it's natural but it's not cool," a critic wrote. "I bet all of you people saying 'Oh this is natural', 'Oh this is amazing', 'Oh I'm a feminist', wouldn't dare leave the house with an ounce of hair on you other than your head." Another commented saying, "She needs a shave."
"The only good thing about this is that the rest of us who still shave and wax will have more men around," another smirked. "How is not shaving your armpits a freedom?!" one detractor wondered about the seemingly "shallow" marketing ploy.
However, fans of Annahstasia and her armpits quickly rose to her defense, blasting the blatant criticism as well as defending the singer's decision to go au naturel. "Oh no! How dare a woman have natural body hair" a supporter sarcastically quipped. "Some of y'all armpits aren’t even shaved right now, so hush," a jokester offered.
“It's an active human body. Let her be," another fan agreed. "It's nature what's the problem?" One thoughtful commentator further elaborated, "It's not about if you personally shave or not. It’s about accepting everyone whether they do something cosmetic or not," adding, "It's a deeper picture than 'she should shave'. It’s the exact point Nike made by putting it up… these comments and proving the very point they wanted to make... that society is unaccepting of differences/preferences/lifestyles."
Nike's reps are yet to comment on the social media backlash, but this is not the first time that a woman was shamed for not shaving her armpit hair. In November last year, 'Pretty Woman' star Julia Roberts admitted that she wasn't trying to make any statements with her 1991 'Notting Hill' premiere look, that showed her with unshaven armpits.
And that very same month, Madonna's daughter Lourdes Leon confidently showed off her unshaven legs and underarms on the red carpet for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund gala. Even in September, she walked the runway for the Gypsy Sport spring 2019 show at New York Fashion Week, proudly displaying her body hair.