More On:
sephora
Sephora unveils plan to combat racism in its stores
Sephora’s 20 best Black Friday deals on trending beauty must-haves
Looters hightail it out of busted-up Manhattan Sephora after seeing cops inside
These are the best deals from the Sephora Beauty Insider Sale
A conservative makeup Instagram influencer who made positive comments about the Capitol Hill riot claims she was dropped as a paid partner by Sephora because of her political views.
Amanda Ensign, 29, regularly posts beauty and lifestyle videos and shares political opinions to her 1.4 million Instagram followers.
The influencer posted a sponsored video approved by Sephora on YouTube Saturday, where she listed her favorite skincare products from the French retailer.
The clip received backlash from viewers over comments Ensign tweeted during the Jan. 6 deadly breach of the US Capitol.
Ensign tweeted and retweeted more than 50 times that day, with many posts apparently in support of the rioters and the false claims that the election had been stolen from former President Trump.
Some of her tweets that day read “There’s not enough popcorn in the world for what’s about to happen,” and, “The left: I hate it here. America is embarrassing. Only we can riot & loot. Defund the police. Just do what the government tells you & don’t ask questions. The right: Let’s fight for freedom. We love the USA. Defend the Constitution. We support our Military & Law enforcement.”
Ensign also tweeted a picture of a woman shooting a gun captioned “There are no other Rights if you can’t defend them.”
After posting her sponsored Sephora video, the makeup company’s social media accounts were inundated with critics who questioned why the retailer would partner with Ensign, and the hashtag #BoycottSephora began trending, according to the Daily Mail.
The company responded to one user on Instagram, writing: “We were made aware that Amanda Ensing, an influencer contracted through one of our external vendors’ campaigns, recently shared content on social media that is not aligned with Sephora’s values around inclusivity. As soon as we were informed, we made the decision to cease all programming with Amanda and will not be engaging her for future partnerships.”
Sephora’s social media channels were then flooded by comments by followers of Ensign, with some bashing the company to say it violated its own policy of “inclusivity” by breaking ties with a conservative.
In an 15 minute Instagram video posted on Sunday, Ensign – sporting a t-shirt reading “Latinos for Trump,” and a crucifix necklace – pledged to “make makeup great again,” and railed against Sephora.
In the clip, Ensign said she has “never condoned violence,” and claimed to be unfairly singled out by the company for being a Republican and Christian.
“I only started being called these things by trolls on the internet after I came out as supporting our President, after I came out talking about my conservative views and my religious views,” Ensign said
“When did makeup become political?,” Ensign asked.
The influencer said she refused a request by Sephora to take down the video, and also screen shotted a clause in her contract with the brand that said she her deal could only be voided for spreading hate speech or violence, which she said she did not.
Ensign also claims she signed an agreement with Sephora guaranteeing she would not be discriminated against for sharing opinions on social media.
“I mean people have mocked my religion, my faith, my political views, smeared me, called me terrible names. I am none of those things all because I think differently from them,” Ensign said.
The Nashville resident said the situation has inspired her to create a conservative makeup company that embraces all political opinions, and urged her followers not to patronize the company.
“Do you think that conservatives don’t buy your makeup, don’t wear makeup, are we not worthy because you say we don’t align with your values of inclusivity.” Ensign said.
Sephora, which recently unveiled a plan to fight racism in its stores, did not immediately return a request for comment from the Post.
Share this article:
Source: Read Full Article
