We all need to chill -Khanyi defends 'racist' Dove advert

As beauty brand Dove found itself in the midst of a social media storm, Khanyi Mbau has taken to social media to air her views on its controversial advert and encouraged people to "chill".

Dove sparked outrage after it released a series of images depicting a black woman pulling a shirt over her head and morphing into a white woman. While the images went viral on social media and led to the advert being withdrawn, Khanyi took to Instagram to defend it.

Posting a video of the full video, Khanyi said that after watching the advert she felt that people needed to relax and not take everything so personally.

"Found the full version of this interesting ad that had the whole world in a rage. Sadly, we all saw the first part of it in a form of a still picture. Now that the full version is out, your thoughts? Personally, I think we all need to chill! Everything has become personal! Seriously people, not everything is about getting the black man!!" she wrote.

In the full version of the advert, the black woman pulls a jersey over her head and changes into a white woman. This woman than pulls a jersey over her head and changes to an indian lady. The full advert includes three women of different races instead of the two which were shown in the viral images.

Khanyi had earlier joined the debate, at first suggesting that Dove may be in trouble for the advert but applauding their "bravery".

The star was also brought into the conversation about the advert when fans suggested she used the product and superimposed her face on images from the advert.

In a statement on Monday, Dove SA apologised for the advertising campaign and admitted it had "missed the mark".

"This did not represent the diversity of real beauty which is something Dove is passionate about and is core to our beliefs‚ and it should not have happened. We have removed the post and have not published any other content. We do not condone any activity or imagery that insults any audience. Our richness lies in our diversity. Our beauty comes in different shapes‚ sizes‚ hair textures and skin tones. We believe beauty is diverse and diversity is beautiful‚" a statement on their Facebook page read.