Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard about the backlash Dove received for their controversial Facebook ad or have at least seen it on your social media feed. 

Dove quickly apologized for the offense caused from the ad, posting an official statement on their Twitter account:

Well, as anticipated, we're getting to hear from the black woman featured in the ad! In an essay on The Guardian, Lola Ogunyemi confirmed she is "not a victim" and feels "proud" of the ad.  

Ogunyemi touched on her background as a Nigerian woman who often felt the brunt of those backhanded "you're pretty for a dark-skinned girl" comments, so when she was offered the opportunity to be featured in an ad for a major skincare brand like Dove, she was super excited. 

"Having the opportunity to represent my dark-skinned sisters in a global beauty brand felt like the perfect way for me to remind the world that we are here, we are beautiful, and more importantly, we are valued," she wrote.

Hearing of the outrage was "upsetting," Ogunyemi said. She pointed out that she was overwhelmed by all of the controversy and she received a slew of calls from friends checking on her well-being. 

"If I had even the slightest inclination that I would be portrayed as inferior, or as the ‘before’ in a before and after shot, I would have been the first to say an emphatic ‘no’," Ogunyemi assured. "I would have (un)happily walked right off set and out of the door. That is something that goes against everything I stand for."

Ogunyemi confirmed that she had a positive experience on the Dove set and that she and the other women knew the main goal was "to use our differences to highlight the fact that all skin deserves gentleness."

The shorter three-second GIF was first circulated, which raised the initial controversy followed by a 13-second clip that featured Ogunyemi, a white woman and an Asian woman. Ogunyemi touched on the full 30-second ad which included seven women which she said included, "different races and ages, each of us answering the same question: “If your skin were a wash label, what would it say?”

In the full version, Ogunyemi is the first model and she proclaims her skin is “20 percent dry, 80 percent glowing” before appearing again at the end of the commercial. 

Ogunyemi does understand how the snapshots could've been interpreted the way they have, given Dove's history, receiving similar backlash from black women. As far as Dove's response to the controversy, Ogunyemi ultimately agrees but does point out that it would've been great if they stood firm in their creative vision.

"While I agree with Dove’s response to unequivocally apologize for any offense caused, they could have also defended their creative vision, and their choice to include me, an unequivocally dark-skinned black woman, as a face of their campaign," she noted. "I am not just some silent victim of a mistaken beauty campaign. I am strong, I am beautiful and I will not be erased."