Gap
It has been reported that the actresses circled are Brooke Smith's daughters: Lucy (left) and Fanny (right.)
It now turns out the two girls are sisters.
The girls are part of a youth performance group, Le Petit Cirque, whose founder, Nathalie Yves Gaulthier told ABC News in a statement that she stands by Gap.
Gaulthier said: "The child in the ad is not an 'armrest,' she's the other girl's little sister. They are a very close family. The child is a very young [junior] member with Le Petit Cirque, a humanitarian cirque company, and therefore a wee shyer than the more seasoned older outgoing girls. Our company is deeply saddened by some people misconstruing this as racist, and are keeping the children out of this at the moment to protect their beautiful feelings, but we are extremely supportive of dialogue in our country to move past any racial barriers. We stand by Gap Kids and Ellen DeGeneres."
The Epoch Times and BET reported that the girls' mother is actor Brooke Smith, who starred acted in "Grey's Anatomy."
Smith and husband Stephen Lubensky adopted daughter Lucy from Ethiopia in 2008. At the time, the couple already had a five-year-old daughter called Fanny, according to People.
Gap and Smith could not immediately be reached for comment.
However, Smith's tweets make it look pretty likely that the two models are indeed her daughters.
they are sisters! https://t.co/eM1HjRqIdi
- Brooke Smith (@Iam_BrookeSmith) April 3, 2016@TheRoot girl with arm resting on her shoulder is her sister She didn't talk in video because she was 2 shy. everyone needs to calm down.
- Brooke Smith (@Iam_BrookeSmith) April 3, 2016@rebel19 @GapKids I know my daughter is black. Why should she have to represent anyone other than herself?
- Brooke Smith (@Iam_BrookeSmith) April 7, 2016The picture formed part of a campaign for #GapKidsxED, Ellen DeGeneres' kids clothing line.
Gap apologized for the image on Monday, after receiving a backlash on Twitter from people who thought the ad had racist overtones.
@GapKids proving girls can do anything... unless she's Black. Then all she can do is bear the weight of White girls. #EpicFail
- Fatima La'Juan Muse (@TheTherapyDiva) April 2, 2016.@GapKids I won't be buying my daughter clothing at your store again due to this racist & unacceptable ad. https://t.co/HgAbiXgrgP
- Britni de la Cretaz (@britnidlc) April 3, 2016Debbie Felix, a Gap Kids representative, apologized for the image on Monday.
She told The Daily Mail: "As a brand with a proud 46-year history of championing diversity and inclusivity, we appreciate the conversation that has taken place and are sorry to anyone we've offended."
Felix added: "We are replacing the image with a different shot from the campaign, which encourages girls (and boys) everywhere to be themselves and feel pride in what makes them unique."
