Acura made an apology on Wednesday for issuing a casting document that called for a "not too dark" African-American actor for the company's 2012 Super Bowl ad.
The controversial casting call document was brought into media's attention on Wednesday from a celebrity gossip site TMZ. The posting, according to TMZ, came from an "African-American actor who did not fit the profile, and who’s pissed.”
In the beginning of the ad, Jerry Seinfeld walks into an Acura dealership and speaks to an African-American car dealer. The role details for the cast sheet read "Nice Looking, friendly. Not too dark. Will work with a MAJOR COMEDIAN."
In response, Acura released a public apology on Wednesday.
We apologize to anyone offended by the language on the casting sheet used in the selection of actors for one of our commercials.
We sought to cast an African-American in a prominent role in the commercial, and we made our selection based on the fact that he was the most talented actor.
The casting sheet was only now brought to our attention. We are taking appropriate measures to ensure that such language is not used again in association with any work performed on behalf of our brand.
Acura spokesman Gary Robinson told the CNN that the company did not know about the casting call document.
"Any of the creative directions didn't come from Acura," said Robinson. "They would've come from the casting agency."
According to CNN's report, Roger Neal was surprised to see such description in the document. Although casting based on skin tone is a common practice, no one is "bold" enough to write it in a document, according to Neal. He suspected that an inexperienced assistant wrote that statement.
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
