Supermodel Winnie Harlow has teamed with The Sims 4 to release a game update that allows gamers to create characters with vitiligo. Electronic Arts, the California-based business behind the blockbuster gaming franchise, announced an upgrade early this year.
EA has released a Sim version of the Canadian supermodel, 29, which features her in a LA-inspired mansion. Harlow expressed delight for the new vitiligo feature in a promotional video, as reported by Daily Mail.
“Seeing a Sim who looks like me as a little girl would have been huge. The update accurately reflects the appearance of my skin in real life.
The Canadian model highlighted her appreciation for The Sims 4 update, telling Glamour, “I really worked for the little Winnie who’d never seen herself represented.” And having The Sims, a game I used to play as a child, want me to be a part of this, as well as making such a significant shift to ensure that everyone feels included, was a huge honor.”
The update received mixed reactions from the game’s 2.1 million Instagram followers. Some fans criticized EA for supposedly ignoring existing issues.
Someone wrote: “Y’all are so focused on adding diversity and inclusion s*** while the game is crumbling with bugs that never get fixed.”
Another user expressed concern about the presence of flaws and bugs in games that require fixing. But, yeah, enjoy.”
Some gamers suggested EA might have done more to promote inclusivity.
“Please get more representation,” one commenter stated. “Like ASL, prostheses, or wheelchairs. Make the game as different as its participants!!”
A second person joined in: “Is it truly simply that? While it is crucial to have more inclusive content in the game, when they discussed it, they made it sound like something bigger.
“Guess I’m just a bit disappointed that it’s just this.”
Meanwhile, one follower said, “As a vitiligo girl, that makes me so happy.”
In February 2023, The Sims sparked an internet debate when it released an update for characters that included “top surgery” scars from breast removal and chest binders. The statement sparked widespread outrage online, with some expressing disappointment and surprise at the advertising of transgender operations in a game aimed at children.
The far-right Twitter account Libs of TikTok republished The Sims updates with negative commentary, captioning them, “They’re teaching young healthy girls that it’s okay to chop off their breasts.”
They provided instances to support their point: “The Sims game revealed a new update that allows you to make a teen character non-binary or transgender by giving them double mastectomy scars and breast binders.
“The Sims is advertised for ages 12 and up.” “They’re teaching young healthy girls that it’s acceptable to cut off their breasts.”