Snapchat 'yellowface' news 2016: Snapchat under fire over racist 'yellowface' filter

Snapchat has courted a storm of ridicule following an ill-judged addition of a widely perceived racist filter which users call "yellowface."

The multimedia messaging app added the controversial filter to its collection of lenses which the social media company refer to as an "anime-inspired" lens. A number of Snapchat users took to Twitter to slam the company for their insensitive and seemingly racist lens portrayal of East Asian stereotypes.

The "yellowface" filter superimposes users' normal facial features with lens that resembles East Asian caricatures that include slanted eyes, thinned jawline, pinkish cheeks and an exaggerated pair of front teeth. Although most of the app's quirky lenses are often embellished with cute effects, the latest filter put the company under fire.

The Silicon Valley multimedia app has taken down the filter Thursday but not before attracting a barrage of criticisms from many of its users.

"This anime-inspired lens has already expired, and won't be put back into circulation. Lenses are meant to be playful and never to offend," Snapchat said when asked by Mashable for a comment.

This isn't the first time the social media app has received a serious backlash over the racial undertones of its playful lenses. Some critics slam the California-based company for suggesting a preference for white with filters that reduce dark skin tones of users. Another widely perceived racist filter is the "Bob Marley" lens which overlays dreadlocks and reggae cap. Moreover, the filter was launched on "marijuana day" which made some people feel that the reggae legend was reduced to nothing more than a poster boy of cannabis, BBC News reported.

The "yellowface" derogatory is nothing new. Since the dawn of motion pictures, Asians have been repeatedly subjected to demeaning roles such as Mickey Rooney's buck-toothed Japanese character in the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's." This East Asian stereotyping remains a source of racist jokes among Hollywood celebrities such as Chris Rock's jokes at the Oscars according to Wired.