Dbrand, a company known for its smartphone accessories and bold and often provocative social media presence, recently found itself embroiled in controversy after a racist remark targeted a customer’s last name. The incident involved a customer named Bhuwan Chitransh, who complained that a MacBook skin he purchased from Dbrand changed color after two months.
The skin, Chitransh wrote, lost its color in just two months. “@dbrand bought this skin a few months ago. Couldn’t even keep the same color after just two months. What should I do? #dbrandcomplaint,” Chitransh wrote on X, formerly Twitter
Dbrand responded with a comment that made fun of the techie’s name. Chitransh and others on X criticized the Canadian company’s racist comments, particularly towards Indian customers.
Realizing the mistake, Dbrand apologized to Chitransh the next day, describing the incident as a “huge blunder” and offering him $10,000 as a goodwill gesture. Despite the apology, the original post remained online until popular tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee criticized the company for not removing it, saying it caused “unnecessary” harm and created a platform for hateful discourse. Dbrand later deleted the tweet following Brownlee’s comments.
According to a report from The Verge, Dbrand CEO Adam Ijaz admitted that the comment was a “serious misjudgment” and acknowledged that Brownlee’s involvement helped the company think more critically about its actions. Ijaz explained that Dbrand has been engaging in playful banter on social media for over a decade, but plans to continue his satirical style in the future without lapsing into insensitivity.
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