SAN JOSE, Calif. — Snapchat s attempt to celebrate popular marijuana holiday 4/20 may have been half baked.
The Los Angeles-based photo messaging app launched a new Bob Marley filter Wednesday that lets users turn themselves into the Jamaican reggae icon. The filter gives the user dreadlocks and darkens his or her skin tone, a feature critics have dubbed .
The Internet exploded after the new filter made its debut. Hoo boy. It s bad. It s very bad, Wired . Gizmodo in extremely poor taste. Snapchat users took to to bash the filter, calling it racist and disrespectful. Critics on Twitter also complained that tying Marley to a day that celebrates all things marijuana reduces his legacy to that of a pothead. Marley was open about his marijuana use, giving it spiritual and religious connotations, but his musical contributions extend far beyond the drug.
A Snapchat representative defended the filter in a statement emailed to Silicon Beat.
The lens we launched today was created in partnership with the Bob Marley Estate, and gives people a new way to share their appreciation for Bob Marley and his music, the representative wrote. Millions of Snapchatters have enjoyed Bob Marley s music, and we respect his life and achievements.
