Brad Pitt is sought after for magazine covers and posters worldwide, but the Malaysian government believes the Hollywood star's appearance in a recent series of Toyota car advertisements in this region was "an insult to Asians."
Zainuddin Maidin, deputy information minister, said Monday in Kuala Lumpur that ads featuring models and personalities who don't look Asian would "plant a sense of inferiority among Asians," national news agency Bernama reported.
"Why must we use their faces in our advertisements?" Zainuddin was quoted as saying. "Aren't our own people handsome enough?" [Is this guys picture in the dictionary under simpleton?]
Zainuddin said the government recently pulled the plug on the ads, which ran in newspapers and TV in Malaysia and other Asian countries. "We canceled the ads," he said, "because they were considered an insult to Asians." Newsday
God forbid an American should say something this stupid. A world wide uproar would ensue.