Far Cry 4′s Box-art is Not Racist, Claims Creative Director

Far Cry 4′s box art has caused a bit of backlash in some gaming groups over claims of racism, but creative director Alex Hutchinson has stated that this is not the case.
The image above is the one in question, where you see a white guy resting his hand on a darker skinned man, which was labeled as racist on some popular media outlets.  I myself didn't see anything wrong with it, but apparently enough people caused enough noise to attract the creative director's attention.
He responded on Twitter with the following:

Just so it's clear for those jumping to conclusions: He's not white and that's not the player. http://t.co/zvqe3uzZI6
— Alex Hutchinson (@BangBangClick) May 20, 2014

What do you think about the whole situation?  Far Cry 4 will be available November 18 in the US, November 20 in Europe and November 21 in the UK for PC, PlayStation 3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.