Many readers of British magazine Blackhair were shocked to see a white model on the cover of the December/January 2017 issues, including the model herself.
Emily Bador, a model from the U.K. who identifies as white and Malaysian, apologized in a lengthy Instagram post Monday for allowing her image to be among the magazine's selection.
"I would deeply and sincerely like to apologise to every one for this, and black women especially," the model wrote. "I would like to clarify, I believe this shoot is from when I was around 15 and didn't understand cultural appropriation or the impact it has on POC. I was uneducated, which obviously is no excuse, ignorant and immature."
Complex reports that the magazine has a "longstanding policy that their models must be 'of black or mixed-race heritage.'"
Bador admitted she had regrets about participating in the shoot that took place about three to four years ago, and never expected her image to land on the cover.
"I'm so so so sorry and I'm very sorry this cover was taken away from a black woman. If I had known it was going to be published, I would never have condoned it. I'm upset and angry I was never asked by the photographer/hair salon/anyone if this image could be used for the cover," Bador penned on the photo that has over 4,000 likes.
The heartfelt note continued with the model commenting on her upbringing in a "very very white city," and the "very Eurocentric beauty standard" she learned through mainstream media while growing up.
As for the magazine, editor Keysha Davis issued an apology and noted that the image was selected through a PR company. They were not aware that the model was not of black or mixed-race heritage.
"We are keenly aware of how black women are underrepresented in the mainstream media and the last thing we want to do is add to our erasure," Davis wrote on Facebook.
"In this ever-changing world, race will surely become even more fluid and no doubt conversations around Black identity will continue to change, and we definitely welcome the dialogue."
Last year, HuffPost Style Canada did a report on diversity among Canadian fashion magazines and of the 124 people featured on 80 covers published in 2015, only 13 could be identified as people of colour. Seven cover stars were black, three were Asian, two were Latina, and one was indigenous.
Here's to hoping we see more diverse magazine covers in 2017.