Michelle Williams clearly didn’t get the Hollywood memo that was sent round about ‘not blacking up and not playing cowboys and Indians,’ two of the things most likely to cause offence in modern society in the USA. Williams, for some unfathomable reason (well, we assume there was money involved), Williams went along with a UK magazine’s suggestion to pose wit long black braids, a feather in her hair and a checked shirt and jeans, like some kind of androgynous Native American, staring sullenly at the camera’s lens.

A spokesperson for AnOther magazine insists that no racial stereotyping was intended and in a statement, said “While we recognize the seriousness of this debate, the image in question in no way intends to mimic, trivialise or stereotype any particular ethnic group or culture, as recent reports suggest," Fox News reports. "The image ... is one of a suite of images taken from inside the magazine, presenting Ms. Williams in a series of eight different imaginary characters. All the characters in the story were inspired by multiple fashion and cultural references, characters and eras, as well as by our admiration of Ms. Williams as one of the most respected and talented actresses of her generation. While we dispute the suggestion that the image has a racist subtext in the strongest possible terms, we're mortified to think that anyone would interpret it in this way.”

Complaints about the images came from Ruth Hopkins, an attorney and writer for LastRealIndians.com. She described the portrait as racist, saying “Just as Blackface is never okay, Redface is never okay.” 

Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams - she'll probably get complaints from peacocks about this dress, too...

Michelle Williams, London
Michelle Williams, in London