With a little over a month to go until the theatrical release of
Black Panther, it seems Disney has found itself in a bit of hot water regarding its hero from the technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda.
The Disney Pin Blog, a site dedicated to reporting on official Disney Parks pins, shared a tweet of a
Black Panther pin sold at the Pin Traders store in Disney World's Spring Marketplace.
As you can see from the close-up, the pin features T'Challa wearing a black mask over a face that is noticeably lighter (or even white) in skin tone. The photo of the pin, which sells for $12.99, was reportedly taken by the website's staff and uploaded by The Disney Pin Blog's team directly, according to owner and editor-in-chief Ryan Mondics.
According to Mondics, the pin, which is not available as part of Disney's official merchandise at this time, is generating a lot of negative reaction over the apparent white-washing. Mondics assured Polygon that he did not use Photoshop or any other image-editing software on the photo. However, it appears a flash was used to take the photo, which could have resulted in T'Challa's underlying skin tone appearing lighter. Comparison photos taken with and without the flash both show a
Black Panther with light-ish skin tone, but
"not outwardly Caucasian," Polygon notes.
An eBay listing of the same
Black Panther pin featured a photo where the skin tone was notably darker than Mondics images, but still nowhere near the darker skin tone of both the character.
Polygon has reached out to Disney for comment and verification that the pin is an authentic Disney item, but has not heard back yet. According to Mondics, there were still plenty available at Pin Traders store at Disney Springs "as of a couple of days ago."
Sound off with your thoughts on Disney's
Black Panther pin in the comments below.