Since the start of protests nationwide, which seeks racial equality and racial justice for the likes of individuals like George Floyd, who was killed by a cop (May 25), many well-known companies have decided to join in on the cause. Yesterday (June 1), L’Oréal Paris became the latest company to show support to the current Black Lives Matter movement by releasing a statement on their Instagram page. Underneath the post that stated, “SPEAKING OUT IS WORTH IT,” L’Oréal Paris captioned the picture, saying, “L’Oréal Paris stands in solidarity with the Black community, and against the injustice of any kind. We are making a commitment to the @naacp to support progress in the fight for justice. #BlackLivesMatter.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA5MXbdD8ts/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
After the beauty brand posted their statement, someone familiar with the company decided to speak out on social media, as they suggested. It was Munroe Bergdorf, a British model who became representative of the personal care company in 2017 but was fired a week later for making comments about systemic racism on social media. She was the first transgender model to serve as a representative for L’Oréal Paris. When Bergdorf spoke with the Guardian on the matter (Sep. 2017), she said:
“The most ridiculous thing is that you call out racism, and they respond with more racism. It just doesn’t make any sense. I don’t regret what I said. I’m an activist. Being an activist means calling people out, not just saying what everyone else is saying and what everyone else wants to think. L’Oréal knew that when they hired me.”
Now, as the French beauty company is showing their support for Black’s current cause, Bergdorf has essentially called the beauty brand out for firing her for speaking on the exact same thing that they are standing against now. In an IG post of her own, the 32-year-old activist wrote:
“Excuse my language, but I am SO angry. F**K YOU @lorealparis,” Munroe wrote in a lengthy post on Instagram. “You dropped me from a campaign in 2017 and threw me to the wolves for speaking out about racism and white supremacy.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA5ThI8ggfO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
She added, “With no duty of care, without a second thought. I had to fend for myself being torn apart by the world’s press because YOU didn’t want to talk about racism. You even tried to get me to incriminate myself with pairing me up with your shady lawyers when I had done NOTHING wrong. THAT is what you get for ‘speaking out’ when employed by @lorealparis. Racist snakes.”
“You do NOT get to do this. This is NOT okay, not even in the slightest,” she said. “I said just yesterday that it would only be a matter of time before RACIST AF brands saw a window of PR opportunity to jump on the bandwagon.”
Towards the end of her statement, Bergdorf asked the beauty brand why they did not give her the same support three years ago that they are giving #BLACKLIVESMATTER now when they speak on the same issues.
“Where was my support when I spoke out? Where was my apology? I’m disgusted and writing this in floods of tears and shaking. This is gaslighting,” she wrote.
The British model then asked for those who are in support of the BLM movement to not let the French beauty brand get away with what they have done.
Following their statement post, L’Oréal posted a black page that captioned: #blackouttuesday.
