British Army deletes 'soldier in blackface' tweet
Army criticised for sending 'racist' twitter picture of soldier in the jungle
The British Army has apologised and deleted a tweet that "may have been misinterpreted" following accusations of racism. The tweet showed a soldier in the Belize jungle wearing dark camouflage paint and pulling a funny face.
The tweet ran with the caption: "Being a soldier in the jungle requires a robust sense of humour."
While the solider was wearing traditional camouflage used in the army, the tone of the tweet faced accusations the solider appeared to be wearing 'blackface' as seen on minstrel entertainers.
Grace Petrie, wrote on Twitter: "The blackface combined with the 'sense of humour' line, it all comes off as pretty racist". A second Twitter user added: "Jesus f*****g Christ, the official British Army twitter endorsing blackface as good fun."
The tweet has now been removed and the British Army apologised for the incident. A spokesperson added: "The content of the tweet shows a picture of a soldier wearing camouflage and concealment measures, standard for jungle training in Belize.
"We can see how the tweet may have been misinterpreted, have immediately removed it and apologise for any offence it may have caused."
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