A nail salon is doing "coronavirus nails" and people are livid

11 February 2020, 17:31 | Updated: 17 March 2020, 12:12

A nail salon is doing "coronavirus nails" and people are livid
A nail salon is doing "coronavirus nails" and people are livid. Picture: @nail_sunny via Instagram, BET
Jazmin Duribe

By Jazmin Duribe

So far, over 1,000 people have died from coronavirus and 43,114 have been infected.

The spread of the new coronavirus has prompted mass panic across the world. The virus – which started in Wuhan, China – has already spread to 27 other countries and it could be another 18 months before there's a cure, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports.

The epidemic is obviously a serious matter, but some are now trying to capitalise on it. Last week, an Instagram influencer named James Potok pretended he had coronavirus while mid-flight as a prank, forcing the plane to return to its departure destination. Now, a nail salon has decided to make coronavirus-themed nails and people aren't impressed.

READ MORE: Influencer James Potok apologises for coronavirus prank on plane

Nail Sunny is a Russian salon with a site in Beverly Hills, California, and they're known for their bizarre designs. Remember teeth nails, boob job nails and nails that actually dripped in snot? Yep, that was them.

View this post on Instagram

1? 🦠2? 3? Coronavirus STOP ✋ #Coronavirus

A post shared by Nail Sunny (@nail_sunny) on

Well, Nail Sunny recently shared their latest nailfie on their Instagram page and it sparked backlash. In a video, you can see green blobs on one hand, which are meant to resemble the virus under a microscope. On the other hand are what appears to be the faces of Asian people.

Considering that over 1,000 have died from the virus people found it incredibly insensitive – and racist.

"This is fucked up," one user commented beneath the post. "What is the need for this stupidity? I’m sorry while people are dying your making nails out of this. What a joke," another raged. "Hardly think this is 'art', hundreds of people have died and thousands are infected that's not a joke, it's insensitive and mean just try to make headlines with this... Unfollowing right now," another wrote. And a fourth commenter said: "RACISM ISN’T ART BRUH."

Nail Sunny Instagram comments
Nail Sunny Instagram comments. Picture: @nail_sunny via Instagram

Nail Sunny responded to the backlash by reposting an article from the Metro that had written about their unusual nail design. In Russian, it was captioned: "Many mention our works, especially those that resonate with the public. Someone admires them, someone condemns, but in each of the designs we put only a creative message and nothing more.

We follow the news and try to always be on the wave. This applies not only to #nailsunnytutorial, but also to all procedures, materials and innovations of the beauty industry. Who loves our tutorials and perceives them as creativity, put a '+' in the comments."

via GIPHY

Right…

What do you think of the nails? Tweet us @popbuzz and let us know!