Acura Apologizes For “Not Too Dark” Casting Call

Last week we reported about Acura’s “not to dark” casting call for its most recent Super Bowl commercial. In the notice the company’s casting directors asked for a black man who wasn’t “too dark.” Now after receiving plenty of angry email and phone calls from potential and current customers the company has come out to directly apologize for their Jerry Seinfeld starring commercial.

In a succinct letter to the general public an Acura spokesman wrote:

“We apologize to anyone offended by the language on the casting sheet. We sought to cast an African-American in a prominent role in the commercial, and we made our selection based on the fact that he was the most talented actor.”

Later in the day Acura told CNN that “any of the creative directions didn’t come from Acura. They would’ve come from the casting agency.”

The casting calls official “role details” read:

“Nice Looking, friendly. Not too dark. Will work with a MAJOR COMEDIAN

The issue of color has come up not once but twice this week after two men filed a lawsuit against the company that produces The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Those men claim that during an open casting call they were not given the same attention as white men. The two show hopefuls also note that during 23 cycles between the two shows not a single black man has been featured in a prominent starring role on the show.

In the meantime Acura said it is “taking appropriate measures to ensure that such language is not used again in association with any work performed on behalf of our brand.”