(Mitt Lørenskog): Ariana Chantelle Antonsen is among the children who will adorn the traditional liver paste box for Stabburet in the coming years. However, the news has come with an aftertaste for the family from Lørenskog.
– I think it’s fun to be in front of the camera. It’s not scary at all, I just pretend the cameras aren’t there, smiles Ariana Antonsen from Fjellhamar.
She is one of ten children who adorn the new liver paste boxes. The photos were taken a year ago, and the new bright yellow boxes can now be seen outside in the shops.
Desired more diversity
The nine-year-old girl began her career as a one-year-old in a diaper campaign for Kiwi. In recent years, she has appeared in a number of television commercials, including for Tine and the store chain Coop.
Mother Jeniffer Antonsen was therefore not surprised when the casting company they previously worked with called a year ago to ask if Ariana would like to be pictured on the new liver paste boxes.
The reason for renewing the boxes now is, among other things, a desire to better reflect the population in Norway, according to Orkla, which produces the liver paste under the Stabburet brand.
Just like the Norwegian population, the children depicted are therefore from different backgrounds and with different skin colours.
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Racist comments on social media
The news has not been received equally well by everyone, Ariana’s mother has learned. When the news came out on social media, there was a hail of ugly comments in the comment fields:
“I do NOT eat brown children”
“No, what the hell”
“I only buy those with Norwegian skin color”
“Get rid of the black boxes”
This is just a selection of the comments the family has read on social media in recent days.
– Has entered into me
Jeniffer Antonsen is shocked at how the public reacts to the children with different skin colors on the new boxes.
– It has taken a toll on me, what people get to say. These are comments hurled at children, who are our future. After reading the comments on these boxes, it only means more to us that Ariana is involved and shows the diversity in Norway, she states.
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Her parents are from Sri Lanka, but she herself was born and raised in Norway. The same applies to Ariana, she emphasizes.
– She has never once been to Sri Lanka. Therefore, both we and she feel that she is completely Norwegian. I myself went on a couple of trips to Sri Lanka as a child, and it just felt completely distant to me. For us, Norway is home, Antonsen explains.
Dreaming of the acting profession
Ariana herself is delighted to soon be able to see herself on the shop shelf.
– I think it will be great fun. But then I also think I get some questions about whether this could be me, she giggles.
The nine-year-old does not hide that the acting profession is very tempting after the experience she has already gained within the television and advertising industry.
Ariana’s mother emphasizes that despite the comments they have read, they have had a good experience.
– We are incredibly proud of Ariana, and how she takes things easy when she is in front of the camera. It comes so naturally to her. It’s also really fun to see how she enjoys it. She is already talking about the next audition she is going to for a TV series, she smiles slyly.
– Sad
Kristoffer Vikebak, communications manager at Orkla, thinks it is sad to hear about the family’s experience.
– It is especially sad that people with such attitudes take it out on young children and their families. We wanted the images on the boxes to represent the diversity of children that exist in today’s Norwegian society and thought we had come further than this in 2024, he writes in an e-mail to Romerikes Blad.
He says that Orkla has not registered any negative feedback on the new boxes directly addressed to the company. They will now take up the dialogue again with all the parents of the depicted children.
– We have had a good dialogue with the parents since the photo shoot last autumn, and are now contacting the relevant parents for a further dialogue, Vikebak explains.
– Not unique
Vivian Brattsti Sørensen, senior advisor for the unit for political influence and communication at the Antiracist Centre, is not surprised by the comments that have appeared.
– The comments are quite classic comments from echo chambers. Unfortunately, they are not unique, she says to Romerikes Blad.
Although there has been a change in attitude recently, there is still a long way to go before complete equality, Sørensen believes.
– I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not. Social media has done a lot for freedom of expression. Each of us can say almost anything we want. Unfortunately, we are a little behind when it comes to protecting vulnerable groups. After July 22, 2011, we should respond with openness and love. Unfortunately, it has also led to a much larger space for hate speech, she says, and emphasizes that the matter is made more serious by the fact that the statements are aimed at children.
The Antiracist Center works against racism, among other things, by holding lectures and arranging activities for children and young people and professional groups that work with them. The center also advises the authorities on various matters.
– It is difficult to convince racists to change their minds, but by making ordinary people aware, we hope that it will be more difficult to get away with racist statements without being contradicted. And we see that it helps, she asserts.
