Sephora has excluded Huda Beauty from its new fall campaign, titled "Experts," after the brand's founder, Huda Kattan, faced criticism for spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on TikTok.
The Iraqi-American entrepreneur, who founded her cosmetics empire in 2013, shared a video in July claiming that Israel was behind World War I and World War II, the September 11 attacks, and the Hamas attack on October 7. The video was deleted by TikTok itself for violating the platform's rules.
Sephora, which is owned by luxury group LVMH , initially said it was looking into the matter. In August, the company confirmed it had launched an internal investigation, saying that “promoting hatred or misinformation goes against our values.”
Kattan was scheduled to be one of the main faces of the campaign, which will launch in September, alongside names like Gucci Westman, Patrick Starr and Mario Dedivanovic. According to Rachel Strugatz of Puck, “Kattan’s absence, who stands at the helm of one of the best-selling brands at Sephora, will be significant.”
Kattan later responded by saying that her comments had been misinterpreted and that her statements were intended to criticize Israeli policies, not Jews or the Jewish religion. She accused her competitors of a smear campaign against her.
While Huda Beauty products continue to be sold in other major retail chains, the brand relies significantly on Sephora's distribution network in North America.
