Deaf model complains after cochlear implant photoshopped out of Virgin Active advert

Posted on September 15, 2017 by



A deaf model who appeared in a photograph (above) used in an advert for Virgin Active has complained after realising that her cochlear implant had been photoshopped out of the image.

In a Facebook post, Simone Botha Welgemoed (who is also a dancer and was Miss Deaf South Africa in 2012) who describes herself as “proudly hearing impaired,” said:

They just went and without my permission decided to edit the cochlear implant out, because why!!??? It doesnt fit with their pretty little picture of portraying the perfect life that is Virgin Active? 

You can see her post below (or look at it directly on Facebook here), and see the company’s apology further down the page:

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Posted in: deaf news