Entertainment
Clara Amfo ‘honoured’ as she’s turned into a Barbie role model
Many of us still dream of getting a Barbie Dream House now that we’re grown up – but Clara Amfo has gone one step further.
The Radio 1 DJ has been made into a Barbie doll, and the star said that to say she is honoured ‘would be an understatement’.
Clara, 36, has been Barbie-fied ahead of International Women’s Day to honour her work as a vocal advocate for racial equality, as she becomes as Barbie role model.
Barbie is celebrating female role models as part of its work to close the ‘dream gap’ – the point when young girls are said to begin to doubt they are as capable as boys.
Stars including world champion sprinter Dina Asher-Smith, model Adwoa Aboah and boxer Nicola Adams have all previously been turned into Barbie ‘Sheroes’ since 2015.
Strictly Come Dancing star Clara, who hails from Kingston upon Thames in London, said: ‘I have been lucky enough to experience some really special moments in my professional life and to say that I am honoured to be named a Barbie role model would be an understatement.
‘There is so much power in being able to see yourself reflected positively in the world as an adult and it’s even more potent as a child.
‘That power and the confidence that comes with it should only be protected and amplified. For me, having this doll represents the infinite possibility that I believe we all have a right to and my only wish it that it will do the same for anyone who sees her.’
The doll has Clara’s style, sporting a leather skirt and jacket and bright trainers, while she is holding a microphone.
Clara is vocal about racism both on her social media and in work, and following the death of George Floyd in May 2020, the DJ made a speech about anti-racism live on air that was widely praised and shared online.
In an emotional monologue, Clara said: ‘Knowing how the world enjoys blackness and seeing what happened to George, we black people get the feeling that people want our culture but they do not want us. In other words, you want my talent but you don’t want me.
‘There is a false idea that racism, and in this case anti-blackness, is just name-calling and physical violence, when it so much more insidious than that.’
She has also been sharing Instagram posts about the plight of queer people in Ghana.
Clara and Barbia have partnered with grassroots London project Milk Honey Bees, a space where young black woman and girls can take part in creative and one-to-one group projects.
Barbie has made a donation to a creative writing project and has also created a video shining a light on Milk Honey Bees and its projects.
While already one of Radio 1’s biggest stars, presenting the mid-morning show and the Live Lounge, Clara gained a whole new legion of fans last year when she competed on Strictly.
The presenter was paired with Aljaž Škorjanec, and their elimination in week six was one of the most controversial of the series.
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