Discussion: Is UK Poster for “Couples Retreat” Racist?

Source: Yahoo!

The image above is a cropped photo of the US promotional poster for Vince Vaughn’s Couples Retreat. No doubt nearly every theater in America carried the poster, which shows each of the pairs with a somewhat bewildered look on their faces. Above their heads lists each of the actors and actresses shown below, including Jean Reno who is not pictured. However, Yahoo! is reporting that the UK poster is altered, excluding one of the couples. The images of Faizon Love and Kali Hawk are taken off the poster, which has some of the actors and actresses in different poses with a different background. Take a look at the US and UK posters below.

US Version

UK Version

Universal has released a statement apologizing for the issue, and has said they will not use the poster in marketing the film overseas. However, considering a New York Times article talking about how African American stars tend to not have as much success overseas as they do stateside at the box office, it may appear they were left off the poster intentionally. Note that Jean Reno is still listed on the UK poster too. Personally, I don’t think it was meant to be directly racially motivated, but people must have been asking questions at Universal. Although the six on the UK poster are the most recognizable stars, why would Faizon and Kali be on the US poster then? Leave your thoughts below.