Kerri-Anne Kennerley has defended Who magazine after the publication used the wrong photo in a feature spread about a South-Sudanese Australian model.

Adut Akech said she felt “very disrespected” after Who illustrated her interview story with a picture of another model, Flavia Lazarus.

“Not only do I personally feel insulted and disrespected, but I feel like my entire race has been disrespected,” Akech wrote in an Instagram post.

“It goes to show that people are very ignorant and narrowminded that they think every black girl or African people looks the same. I feel as though this would’ve not happened to a white model.”

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I’ve have given some deep thoughts the past few days on how to approach this situation that isn’t sitting well with me. For those who are not aware, last week @whomagazine (Australia) published a feature article about me. In the interview I spoke about how people view refugees and peoples attitude to colour in general. With the article they published a large photo saying it was me. But it was of another black girl. This has upset me, has made me angry, it has made me feel very disrespected and to me is unacceptable and inexcusable under any circumstances. Not only do I personally feel insulted and disrespected but I feel like my entire race has been disrespected too and it is why I feel it is important that I address this issue. Whoever did this clearly the thought that was me in that picture and that’s not okay. This is a big deal because of what I spoke about in my interview. By this happening I feel like it defeated the purpose of what I stand for and spoke about. It goes to show that people are very ignorant and narrowminded that they think every black girl or African people looks the same. I feel as though this would’ve not happened to a white model. My aim for this post is not to bash Who Magazine -they have apologised to me directly – but I feel like I need to express publicly how I feel. This has deeply affected me and we need to start an important conversation that needs to happen. I’m sure that I’m not the first person that’s experienced this and it needs to stop. I’ve been called by the name of another models who happens to be of the same Ethnicity, I find it very ignorant, rude and disrespectful towards both of us simply because we know that this doesn’t happen with white models. I want this to be somewhat of a wake up call to people within the industry it’s not OK and you need to do better. Big publications need to make sure that they fact check things before publishing them especially when its real stories and interviews and not just some made up rumors. To those who work at shows and shoots it’s important that you don’t mix up models names. Australia you’ve a lot of work to do and you’ve got to do better and that goes to the rest of the industry

A post shared by Adut Akech Bior (@adutakech) on Aug 25, 2019 at 5:34am PDT

In response to the news, Kennerley said the mistake had nothing to do with racism.

“I think [Akech]’s just taking this way too far, if she thinks it’s all about racism … somebody made a mistake,” Kennerley said on Studio 10.

She explained that she had been mistaken for 60 Minutes journalist Liz Hayes on several occasions. “It’s a big mistake, but it’s happened to me before … It’s just a stuff-up.”

Fellow presenter Angela Bishop challenged Kennerley, asking whether her mix-ups were comparable to Akech’s case. “Was yours in a social page’s snap … as opposed to an entire article about Adut, featuring on her success, the fact that she’s the face of Melbourne Fashion Week, currently the hottest model in the world?”

Akech said in the Who feature article, she spoke about the public perception of refugees and “people’s attitude to colour in general”.

The 19-year-old model said while the magazine has apologised to her for the incident, she still felt the need to address the issue.

“This is a big deal because of what I spoke about in my interview,” she wrote. “By this happening I feel like it defeated the purpose of what I stand for and spoke about.

“I’m sure that I’m not the first person that’s experienced this and it needs to stop.

“Australia you’ve a lot of work to do and you’ve got to do better and that goes to the rest of the industry.”

The magazine said the public relations agency OPR, which sent the pictures on behalf of Melbourne Fashion Week, “supplied us with the wrong photograph to accompany the piece”. A spokesperson for Who told 10daily that it “sincerely apologises for the incorrect image that appeared in this week’s magazine”.

OPR said in a statement to Mumbrella that the agency sent photos of model images, including those of Akech, to the magazine. “Regardless of where the administrative error was made, we sincerely regret any upset it has caused to the models involved, and our client the City of Melbourne.”

In a statement on its Instagram page, the Melbourne Fashion Week said it was “extremely disappointed” of the mistake on the magazine.

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A post shared by Melbourne Fashion Week (@melbfashionweek) on Aug 25, 2019 at 8:48pm PDT

“Both Adut and Flavia have expressed their disappointment and we support them. This error is unacceptable, and both Who Magazine and our public relations agency, OPR, have apologised,” the statement read.

Akech is the 2019 ambassador of the Melbourne Fashion Week. She was one of the 15 women handpicked by Duchess Meghan for the cover of British Vogue’s September issue. Last year, she was also voted Model of the Year in Models.com’s industry vote.