'Racist' Instagram influencer refuses to delete posts showing her in 'blackface'

A Kuwaiti beauty influencer has been branded "racist" after posting several posts and videos showing her in blackface on Instagram.

Professional makeup artist Ghadeer Sultan took to the social media site on New Year's Eve to share pictures and videos of herself wearing a variety of wigs and with her skin made to look considerably darker - all while she lip-synced to the 2010 charity single 'We Are the World 25 for Haiti'.

This white model was also slammed for blackface after using tanning injections:

Ghadeer captioned one of the posts: "No matter where you are from or what you believe in, we are all children of this world, and we all share it together equally,' she captioned the footage. 'Beauty comes in all shapes and colors, so lets love each other and celebrate our unity. I love u all, happy new year [sic]"

However, many of Sultan's 2 million followers immediately slammed the video and pictures, branding her "racist" to posting herself in blackface.

Blackface is a historical practice dating back around 200 years. It was commonly used by white performers to represent somebody with dark skin, and would often be accompanied by insulting impressions of black people in very exaggerated ways.

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One Instagram user with the handle thelukapuka commented: "I can’t believe that you thought this was acceptable to post. Are you familiar with Blackface? Do you understand the gravity of what you just posted? I dont think so. Ignorance is not always bliss. Delete the posts, sis. [sic]"

And another user with the username tuta.luci wrote: "This is the most offensive thing i’ve seen. You can portray togetherness without disrespecting an entire culture. So uneducated, this is beyond unnecessary and unacceptable. [sic]"

However, despite the backlash, Ghadeer has refused to apologize for the posts or remove them.

In her caption, she insisted she was not racist but simply demonstrating her capabilities as a makeup artist, writing:

"I am not racist .. I hate racism,' she wrote 'What I’ve done is only to show what I am capable of... I love you all. Life is meant for living... living with love and passion for every one without thinking of what they are could really change your life .... Think 2020 and live with passion for all peoples. Happy new year [sic]"