Snapchat Apologizes For Juneteeth Filter That Made Users Smile To Split Chains

Snapchat has apologized for debuting a tone-deaf Juneteenth-inspired filter with an animation of chains that would only “break” if users smiled.

Users who tried out the Lens expressed revulsion at the filter, which was designed for the 19 June US holiday to celebrate the liberation of people who had been enslaved in the country. It featured the Pan-African flag in the background and triggered an animation of the chains of slavery breaking if users gave a smile.

“This is what happens when you don’t have any Black people on the product design team,” lamented former Snap employee Ashten Winger.

Twitter user Kane mockingly cried out, “We’re free!” as he grinned in his video, and explained in his post, “Guess they thought this was gonna be our reaction.”

Snapchat apologized for releasing the feature hours later. A spokesperson for the company told the Hollywood Reporter that “a diverse group of Snap team members” was behind the Juneteenth concept, but clarified that “a version of the Lens that went live for Snapchatters this morning had not been approved by [its] review process.”

It also published a public apology on Twitter, writing, “We deeply apologize for the offensive Juneteenth Lens. The Lens that went live hadn’t been approved through our review process. We are investigating so this doesn’t happen again.”

This SnapChat #Juneteenth filter is…um…interesting.

Smile to break the chains? Okay then. pic.twitter.com/Wyob3kT3ew

— Mark S. Luckie (@marksluckie) June 19, 2020

guess they thought this was gonna be our reaction pic.twitter.com/TNsq2W6QBG

— Kane (@SaintLouisNigga) June 19, 2020

yoooooo, I barely get on Snapchat but I had to see what the tea was… yalll .. wtf smile you break the chains ???? Deadass ?  pic.twitter.com/GWdvpmsAkv

— Friendly Black Mami? (@_BodyBySunny) June 19, 2020

aaaand this is what happens when you don’t have any black people on the product design team. As a Snap alumni, this is extremely embarrassing. It doesn’t have to be this hard – how about an AR experience to inform your 229 million daily active users what Juneteenth is? @Snapchat https://t.co/XmVioMcj8B

— ?????? (@whoopthis) June 19, 2020

We deeply apologize for the offensive Juneteenth Lens. The Lens that went live hadn’t been approved through our review process. We are investigating so this doesn’t happen again.

— Snapchat (@Snapchat) June 19, 2020