A photo of Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman being used in a skin treatment advertisement by a hospital in India's Kerala state has sparked social media uproar.
The incident came to light on Monday, when a Twitter user posted a now-deleted picture of the advertisement tagging Morgan Freeman, and slammed the hospital for claiming they treat dark tans, wrinkles, and pigments.
Soon, the post went viral, as netizens hit out at the Vadakara Cooperative Hospital for using the picture of the 84-year-old actor for allegedly making false claims and misleading patients.
Indian author Sree Parvathy pointed out the purportedly racist undertones in the advertisement and said, "Those who lifted the picture of Morgan from the internet failed to identify the Oscar winning actor and went by his skin colour, the rashes on his face and his African-American heritage".
After facing a severe backlash, the hospital pulled the poster and issued an apology on its Facebook page.
"The picture was taken from the internet... When we came to know about the gaffe, it was removed on Saturday", T. Sunil, the marketing manager of the hospital, told The New Indian Express. "There was no intention to defame the great actor", he added.