Coco Gauff Defends Natural Hair in Miu Miu Ad Backlash

Coco Gauff, the 22-year-old American tennis star and two-time Grand Slam singles champion, broke a monthlong social media hiatus this week with an eight-minute TikTok video addressing criticism of her natural hair in a recent Miu Miu advertising campaign. The backlash erupted after images from the photoshoot surfaced, prompting Gauff to temporarily delete her accounts amid thousands of negative comments about her appearance.

The campaign featured Gauff promoting Miu Miu's Vivant leather bag on her backyard tennis court, dressed in a red polo shirt, navy skirt and black shoes. She opted for minimal makeup and styled her 4C textured hair in a natural bun, a deliberate choice to align with the brand's everyday aesthetic and to avoid damaging her hair by slicking it back. Gauff explained in the video that the shoot was low-key, involving just her and a social media handler, and that she selected the outfit from options provided by the brand. "I did my everyday hair and makeup because that was personally the point," she said.

Gauff firmly rejected the notion that her look was unpolished or unsuitable for a luxury brand. "I'm not gonna apologize for the way that my hair looked,...