Acura Apologizes for 'Not Too Dark' Casting Call

Acura apologized this week over a casting document for its Super Bowl commercial that requested a black actor who is "not too dark." The casting sheet had specified: "Nice Looking, friendly. Not too dark." reports TMZ. An actor angry at being passed over for the commercial, which starred Jerry Seinfeld, leaked the document to the website.

"We apologize to anyone offended by the language on the casting sheet," the carmaker said in a statement. "We sought to cast an African-American in a prominent role in the commercial, and we made our selection based on the fact that he was the most talented actor." A spokesman for Acura also told CNN that "any of the creative directions didn't come from Acura. They would've come from the casting agency." (More race stories.)