Aussie model defends Serena Williams blackface costume

An Australian model has faced major backlash online after sharing images of herself dressed in a blackface costume.

Sophie Applegarth uploaded photos to her Instagram account showing snaps of her and her friends dressed as Serena and Venus Williams for a ‘fav sports star’ party.

In the photos, the girls can be seen smiling, wearing white shorts, a black tank top and brown body paint.

“Venus & Serena. Sport stars on a bender,” one of the photo captions read.

However, since the images were posted to Twitter, several people have come out to criticize the young woman and her friends, calling the costumes “disgusting” and asking her to take “responsibility” for her actions.

According to the ABC, the model, who is represented by Chic Management took to her Instagram account to try to clear everything up, claiming the costumes were meant to be a homage to their icons.

"Disclaimer — I had no 'racist' or malicious intent by the photos I just uploaded," she said.

"We were praising our fav sports stars Serena and Venus Williams. Did not mean to offend."

Since the pictures were distributed online, Sophie and her friends have put their Instagram accounts on private and Chic Management has removed her profile from their website.

Efforts have been made to contact Chic Management and Sophie Applegarth.

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