A Polish reality show has come under fire after one of its contestants dressed in blackface while impersonating Bill Withers.
Over the weekend, female singer Maja Hyży donned a curly textured wig and darkened her skin to perform a rendition of Ain't No Sunshine in the TV competition Your Face Sounds Familiar.
In the episode, Hyży perched on a stool and played the guitar as she sang the iconic tune.
While judges on the series appeared to enjoy the performance, the show was instantly met with backlash online as viewers expressed their outrage at dressing contestants in blackface.
"Dang! The audacity to be very offensive with black face AND they sound awful and are ruining an iconic song?" said one viewer.
Another added: "I can’t get over the fact that you guys do this it’s not ok no matter where you are."
The music competition franchise is a popular television series that has almost 50 different versions in countries around the world. In 2013 it was also aired in the UK presented by Paddy McGuinness and Alesha Dixon.
The format of the show encourages contestants to mimic an artist's song but also to look like the star. However, the show has faced mounting criticism, particularly in Poland, after contestants darkened their skin to assume the roles of music icons such as Tina Turner and Beyonce.
The Polish program has since released a statement on social media in which it defended its decision to darken the skin of contestants impersonating Black musicians.
The statement read: "We are very surprised with the number of negative comments regarding to the tv show Your Face Sounds Familiar. The Polish edition of the show, seen as exemplary abroad, always tries to show great performances, which strive to be as close to the original as possible.
Later in the statement, it reads: "The producers and contestants of all previous series of the show, had always one thing in mind – to recreate most accurately (vocally, movement-wise and visually) the big music stars of Polish or foreign origin – which are selected for them randomly.
"A team of professionals watches over this process and they prepare the artist for their performance. Throughout the years, the greatest artists in Poland joined the fun, creating unforgettable performances such as Kasia Skrzynecka as Tina Turner, Agnieszka Włodarczyk as Michael Jackson, Mariusz Totoszko as Stevie Wonder, Natalia Szroeder as Whitney Houston, Kacper Kuszewski as Missy Elliott, or Aleksandra Szwed as Beyonce.
"The intention of each star performing on the show, as well as of the whole production team, is to recreate the original performance in the most precise manner, while honouring the original artist.
"The artist, who is of the utmost importance for all of us, who love music," the statement concludes.
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