Cameron Diaz apologized Sunday to the people of Peru for committing a fashion and political faux pas over the weekend.

Diaz, 34, had visited Peru’s Incan city of Machu Picchu on Friday carrying a green bag with a red star and the words “Serve the People” in Chinese, an infamous political slogan of Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong.

The bags are marketed as fashion accessories in some world capitals, but in Peru the phrase evokes memories of the Maoist Shining Path insurgency of the 1980s and early 1990s in a bloody conflict that left nearly 70,000 people dead.
On Friday, one prominent Peruvian human rights activist, Pablo Rojas, said Diaz should have been a little more aware of local sensitivities when picking her accessories.
“It alludes to a concept that did so much damage to Peru, that brought about so many victims,” Rojas told the Associated Press. “I don’t think she should have used that bag where the followers of that ideology did so much damage.”

The star immediately went into damage control, talking to the AP about the “warmth and beauty” she experienced in Peruvians and her wish “for their continued healing.”
In Sunday’s statement, the voice of Princess Fiona in the movie Shrek, said the purpose of her visit was to participate in a television show that celebrates Peru’s culture. The actress has been in Peru as part of 4 REAL, a Canadian TV production that focuses on young community leaders around the world.

“I sincerely apologize to anyone I may have inadvertently offended,” Diaz said Sunday in a statement to the AP. “The bag was a purchase I made as a tourist in China and I did not realize the potentially hurtful nature of the slogan printed on it.”
In her statement, the star of “There’s Something About Mary” said the purpose of her visit was to participate in a television show that celebrated Peru’s culture.

Original Source: Cameron Diaz Apologizes for Handbag Faux Pas