FHM Philippines magazine pulls its March cover over 'racism' charges

New York, Feb 28 (ANI): The Philippines edition of British lad magazine, FHM, has apologised and dumped its March cover showing a fair-skinned model surrounded by a group of black models after 'racism' outcry.

The image show Philippine beauty Bela Padilla in a bright pink bikini posing between three black models in black bikinis, with a caption "Bela Padilla stepping out of the shadows."

The cover was posted to the magazine's Facebook page on Saturday, sparking complaints on Twitter and Facebook.

The Telegraph quoted one Twitter user as commenting, "DISGUSTING representation of #colorism and #racism in the Philippines!"

"Shame on FHM Philippines!" another reader, who identified herself as a Filipino-American shoe designer, tweeted.

Just hours after the cover was revealed, more than 300 people signed a petition on Change.org calling for FHM to scrap the shot and apologize.

"A cover starring Bela Padilla 'stepping out of the shadows' would be uncontroversial, if the shadows weren't black models," the petition's creator, Victor Bautista, wrote.

FHM announced it was yanking the cover on Monday, the New York Daily News reported.

"When FHM hits the stands in March it will have a different cover," the magazine's publisher, Summit Media, said in a statement, according to The Telegraph.

"We apologize and thank those who have raised their points. We apologize to Bela Padilla for any distress this may have caused her," Media added.

Padilla, 20, who is the niece of Filipino action star Robin Padilla, tweeted an apology, saying, "I'm so sorry to everyone who got offended. I hope all of you see the beauty of the cover and appreciate it."

"My cover is supposed to be about stepping out of MY shadows, inhibitions, fears, etc. And has nothing to do with race," she added later. (ANI)