Diddy Responds to Claims He Doesn't Like Dark Skinned Sisters

UPDATE: If you were to ask Sean “Diddy” Combs what’s his flavor when it comes to his taste in women, he’ll tell you he loves them all. After an email memo surfaced on the internet, requesting only white, Hispanic, and “light skinned African-American women” apply for a CIROC Vodka commercial featuring Diddy (who acts as their official spokesperson) the blogosphere went nuts. Many criticized the hip hop impressario and Ciroq for blatent discrimation.

Yesterday Diddy responded twice to his critics saying, “FOR the record people I LOVE WOMEN OF ALL SHADES!!! I DON’T DISCRIMINATE!!! DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE!!! Now back to the POSITIVITY!!!”

The official statement from Ciroc states: “CIROC Vodka has nothing whatsoever to do with this inappropriate and offensive casting call, which was done without the brand’s knowledge or consent. We are taking action in response to this issue as Ciroc has never worked with the company in question. We find this particularly deplorable and outrageous because it goes against everything we stand for as a brand and a company and everything our campaign has been about. CIROC Vodka has created a brand that defines sophisticated celebration for all consumers, and in no way condones this despicable practice.”

Does Diddy’s Taste Neglect Dark-Skinned Black Women?

When you consider the music industry is all about creating a fantasy often at the expense of objectifying women, is it hard to believe that a celebrity with clout might want his pick of beautiful women? The blogosphere has been abuzz about an e-mail that was allegedly sent from Imperative Talent Management, an Atlanta-based talent management company, announcing a rather specific casting call for Ciroc, an upscale brand of distilled vodka. The e-mail indicated the agency was looking for a few good women to appear with their celebrity endorser Sean “Diddy” Combs in a new commercial. Only one problem—there was a more specific request under race asking for White, Hispanic or light-skinned African-American women only. Equally as outrageous, the ad asks that only women at least 5′ 6″ or taller and who wear a size 7 or smaller need apply.

However, Tony Carmichael, director of the Imperative Talent Management, wants to clear the air. “We have been receiving threatening phone calls and e-mails because people think we sent this out, but we have a booking agent who aggressively searches the Internet for various casting for models and talent,” the 25-year-old told ESSENCE.com. “It was never our intention to discredit Ciroc Liquor nor were we trying to be disrespectful toward anyone. We work with all talent in different shapes, sizes and color, and have another client who only wants dark-skinned women, so again, we didn’t mean to offend.”

So tell us, are you offended that the casting is for light-skinned sisters only, or that any sister over 5′ 6″ pushing a size 8 won’t make the cut either?