"It is not cheap": Indian-Nigerian wedding triggers racism controversy after Glambot director’s ‘rude’ emails surface

Imagine planning your dream Indian-Nigerian wedding, with vibrant saris swirling with ankara prints, dhol beats meeting Afrobeat - only to have a celebrity vendor question if you can even afford the glamour of renting a Glambot for the wedding. That's the shocking reality Yinka Animashaun faced in 2019, and her email exchange is now going viral on the internet for its classism row. For the unversed, Yinka Animashaun is a Nigerian-American designer who married Indian investor Nitin Sikka in a lavish Dallas celebration. Before her wedding, she had politely emailed Glambot director Cole Walliser about renting his red-carpet-famous robotic camera (you might have seen many celebs' slow-motion reels using it). However, Glambot director Cole Walliser's responses were nothing but dismissive. He took digs at Yinka, implying she was "pretending" to book it and won't be able to afford it due to her race. The email exchange has now surfaced on the internet, and it has started a debate over classism, racism accusations, and a reminder: No one should feel small on their big day.Yinka's first message dripped excitement: "Are you/the Glambot available for private events such as a wedding? I’d love to have you at mine September 20th and 22nd. Please let me know your availability and rates!" Pure joy. Cole's reply? "It is not cheap, if you feel like something like this might be within your budget range, then I am happy to discuss further." Regardless of Cole's dismissive response, Yinka pushed back politely and further replied, "Yeah it’s something in my budget range :)" His comeback? "I don’t see how you could be since I didn’t say how much it was and could be between $10,000 and $1,000,000." The back-and-forth dragged on, with Yinka remaining gracious amid his evasions.Finally, he said, "$300,000 - I’ll take a 10% deposit." While Yinka said, "Thanks, I’ll reach out by Monday!" However, this again made Cole reply rudely as he wrote, "If you wanted to know how much it costs, you just needed to ask; you don’t need to pretend you are going to book it", a statement which showed his preconceived notion that Yinka couldn't afford the Glambot.Yinka, a talented dog clothing designer living in the US, poured her soul into a multi-day fusion wedding (following Indian-Nigerian traditions) at Dallas's Westin Stonebriar. And that Glambot dream could have added a sparkling touch with its ultra-slow-mo magic, like Oscars stars get. But it instead unearthed pain: Assumptions about her not being able to afford it based on... what? Her name? Her profile pic? It's the kind of microaggression that stings deepest - especially for Black women who are often dismissed in luxury spaces. Her wedding was a testament to love crossing oceans; but this particular incident twists it into a debate on who "deserves" extravagance.With Yinka's email going viral on the internet, people reacted on social media, calling out Cole for his racist and classist remarks. "Her first question: 'Let me know your rates!' His last: 'you don’t have to pretend' - weirdo," one X user vented. While another said, "He assumed she couldn’t afford it because she was Black. Promise if that PFP was a white blonde, no questions." Heartbreaking queries flooded: "What happened to just saying your rates and letting them decide?" or "Imagine fumbling a wedding gig because you prejudged someone's bank account."Days later after the controversy erupted on social media, Cole posted a raw video apologising for the way he had responded back then. "The tone was dismissive and curt, that’s not OK," he wrote, owning the overwhelm of solo-handling emails in 2019, insisting on no excuses. "The hardest part is being labeled racist. I’m half Chinese... issues of identity deeply affected me," he added. "I take responsibility for my words, regardless of intent," he further wrote.It's vulnerable, but for many, it rings hollow after Yinka's humiliation resurfaced.What are your views on this controversy? Do you think apologising now could help? Tell us in the comment section below.