Noor Tagouri, a Libyan American activist and journalist, was filmed by her husband looking through a fresh print issue of Vogue, which features her photo in a Givenchy outfit. However, the photo's caption described her as a Pakistani actress, called "Noor Bukhari."
"I have been misrepresented and misidentified multiple times in the media — to the point of putting my life in danger," she lamented. "I never expected this from a publication I respect so much and have read since I was a child."
The 24-year-old speaker, who became the first woman to wear a hijab for a Playboy photo-shoot in 2016, went on to claim that Muslim Americans are "constantly" subject to misrepresentation and misidentification.
"And as much as I work to fight this, there are moments like this where I feel defeated."
The fashion magazine immediately issued an apology for its faux pas and vowed to be more careful in future.
"We are sincerely sorry for the mistake. We were thrilled at the chance to photograph Tagouri and shine a light on the important work she does, and to have misidentified her is a painful misstep," Vogue wrote in a social media post.
"We also understand that there is a larger issue of misidentification in media-especially among nonwhite subjects. We will try to be more thoughtful and careful in our work going forward, and we apologise for any embarrassment this has caused Tagouri and Bukhari."
However, some commenters pounced on the magazine for its perceived incorrect wording, particularly picking on the word "non-white".
An apology is not enough. You should give her another opportunity to feature in an upcoming issue in the VERY NEAR future. A tweet is simply not good enough and it stains Vogue's reputation badly.
— — (@Ameligatha) 17 января 2019 г.
"This apology seems a bit shallow. 'Nonwhite'?" a user wrote. "'We will try to be more thoughtful and careful in our work going forward' (‘try' being the operative word)? Vogue, your prestige comes with responsibility. Be better."
"Non-white? Really?" another posted. "It's like saying there are only two kinds of ‘subjects' — white and non-white. Wow! Wonderful evolution Vogue."
