Home Scandal and Gossip Sephora cancels conservative makeup influencer for supporting Capitol Riot

Sephora cancels conservative makeup influencer for supporting Capitol Riot

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Amanda Ensing Sephora
Amanda Ensing Sephora: French beauty product label drops outspoken conservative for 'not being inclusive'.
Amanda Ensing Sephora
Amanda Ensing Sephora: French beauty product label drops outspoken conservative for ‘not being inclusive’.

Amanda Ensing Sephora cancels conservative beauty influencer contract for not being inclusive and claims that she supported Capitol riots. Dropped over her political views? Does politics belong in beauty product reviews? 

‘When did makeup become political?’ A self professed ‘conservative’ makeup influencer who made ‘positive’ comments about the recent Capitol riot on Instagram has been dropped as a paid partner by Sephora

Amanda Ensing, 29, of Nashville, Tennessee regularly posts beauty and lifestyle videos and shares political opinions to her 1.4 million Instagram followers.

The influencer posted a sponsored video (see immediately below) 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 Ensing tweeted during the Jan. 6 breach of the US Capitol.

Ensing 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 Donald Trump.

A beauty product influencer is unhinged after wading in political terrain

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.’

Ensing 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 Ensing, with the hashtag #BoycottSephora soon 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 in turn flooded by Ensign’s supporters, with some condemning the outlet, saying it violated its own policy of ‘inclusivity’ by breaking ties with a conservative.

In an 15 minute Instagram video posted on Sunday, Ensing – 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.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by amanda ensing (@amandaensing)

‘When did makeup become political?’

‘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?,’ Ensing 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.

Ensing 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.

Ensing has continued to refuse staying quiet as asked by Sephora along with the outlet’s demands for her to delete the collaborated video. The influencer is demanding to be paid by Sephora what they agreed for the sponsored video she spent time and money putting together. She is also demanding an apology for the way she has been publicly condemned by the beauty brand.

Amanda Ensing Sephora
Amanda Ensing Sephora

How beauty products have been infused with political ideology and debate- but need they be? 

‘This is so much bigger than me getting paid,’ stated Ensing. ‘My mother did not come here from Puerto Rico and risk and sacrifice everything to live in the America that we’re living in right now where you are silenced, censored, or denied work because of your political or religious views.’

Speaking directly to Sephora, Ensing asked, ‘Are you going to disaffiliate with every influencer who threatened violence against me in the last couple of months? Every influencer who mocked my faith, and my religious beliefs? Or is it okay because they’re liberal or not conservative?’

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 Sephora. 

‘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, said it has made no attempt to silence Ensign, and her contract is handled by a separate company, RewardStyle.

‘We were recently made aware of concerning behavior by Ms. Ensing on her social platforms.  Most recently, she made light of the violence and tragic loss of life at our nation’s Capitol last month,’ Sephora said in a statement.

Amanda Ensing Sephora
Social media responds to Amanda Ensing Sephora debate.

‘Any claim that this decision was made on the basis of political or religious beliefs is inaccurate, we respect each individual’s right to have their own perspectives and freedom of expression. However, Sephora reserves the right to terminate any partnership we deem inappropriate for our brand,’ the statement continued.

Defenders of Ensign have since pointed out that Sephora has been a vocal supporter of the BLM movement, which they pointed out also used violence and rioting- never mind that African Americans have historically been exploited for their labor and ongoing profiled and the disproportionate victims of police violence and jailing in the U.S.

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