Giannina Antonette Oteto may be an unknown name to you, but you have definitely seen her before. Moreover, she graces the cover art of Childish Gambino, also known as Donald Glover's, "Awaken, My Love!" album cover from back in 2016. Creative director Ibra Ake took the picture of Oteto wearing a beaded headdress by WXYZ Jewelry designer Laura Wass. However, for years, Oteto has accused the multi-disciplinary artist and his team of avoiding legal contact to actually receive payment for her contribution to the project, and that she's not alone in this fight. Recently, she took to Facebook to update followers on the matter and comment on the bittersweet emotions she holds for this work.
"Being able to hold an album that I'm on the cover of," Giannina Oteto captioned a (seemingly since-deleted) picture of her holding a vinyl pressing of Childish Gambino's album. "And having my bestie mom next to me to celebrate! My number 1 cheerleader! This album has been so hard for me to celebrate for many reasons, and for years I resented it even. It put me through a lot but finally being able to celebrate it means a lot! Update: I resented it because myself, the makeup artist, and stylist (all black women) were [taken] advantage of and lied to.
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"We received low pay. [They] promised residuals. But [we] never received anything," she continued. "The only person who received residuals was a white woman who created the headpiece even though she was not on set to work on this (but she also deserves it). After years of lies and silence then finding out statute of limitation complications... it's been an exhausting, emotional, and overall sad thing to deal with. So it took so much from me especially the fact that we all worked on it with so much love and being proud to represent black artists. All of my lawyers' communications have been ignored by [Childish Gambino] and his team. #bittersweet."
Furthermore, the model also reposted various drawings she received since "Awaken, My Love!"'s release. As such, she clearly appreciates her contributions and opportunities, but rightfully thinks that she and many others deserve more. We'll see if the actor eventually responds to all this. For more news and the latest updates on Childish Gambino, check back in with HNHH.
