Remember those Dolce And Gabbana ads that were supposed to celebrate Chinese culture but instead ended up ridiculing it. Well back in November, Dolce and Gabbana released the controversial racist ads on their Instagram account. It was supposed to promote their upcoming runway show in Shanghai, but it ended up derailing it when Stefano Gabbana allegedly called Chinese people “Ignorant Dirty Smelling Mafia” and “the country of sh**.” The model in the center of the commercial, Zuo Ye has now released a statement regarding the matter.

In the ads, Zuo Ye played up the “oriental lady” stereotypes depicted in Hollywood. She used chopsticks to pick up cannoli and other Italian eateries as she played up the Asian women stereotypes. On her Weibo account, she released a statement explaining her situation at the time and an apology, reports the Daily Mail.

“I was only told that they were going to be social videos and that it would involve Italian food.

“Everyone at the shoot spoke Italian. Only the director spoke to me in English when he was giving me instructions. I didn’t talk to anyone else.”

She added that the shoot took place in a Chinese restaurant in Milan and that she was surprised when the director told her to pick up the cannoli.

“Obviously I failed the first try since the cannoli was so large. I asked if he was ‘kidding me’.”

“The director said, ‘Yes! I know it’s hard, just try to do that. I thought it was very embarrassing and silly as the pieces of food were so large.”

“Out of respect and trust for the brand, I failed to consider the consequences after the videos were published. I apologize for being inconsiderate and I will take this incident as a lesson.

“I never thought being a model for the brand could have almost ruined my modeling career.”

Zuo Ye didn’t state if she lost any jobs but she said that she, her family, and her agent received death threats after the ads surfaced.

“I deeply respect and love my country and would never do anything to harm China’s reputation. I am proud to be representing China on the runway.”

Zuo Ye ended her statement with another apology.

Dolce and Gabbana issued an apology for the ads but it was too late, the damage was done. Chinese celebrities and the people vowed to never wear Dolce And Gabbana again.