Another case of cancel culture in the media
Makeup artist and Youtuber Amanda Ensing was dropped from her contract with Sephora following the capital riots of Jan. 6. After eight years of working with the brand, Ensing was canceled from the brand after sharing her political and religious views with her viewers and followers.
A tweet Ensing put out on Jan. 6 is what sparked the initial backlash.
“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,” wrote Ensing.
Fellow beauty influencers were quick to show their opinion on Ensing’s words. Jackie Aina subtweeted Ensing saying “Defund Amanda Ensing.”
“People showing up at the capitol doesn’t mean he won, just like you curling your hair and tanning your skin doesn’t mean you’re ‘MiXeD,'” tweeted Makeup by Shayla.
On Jan. 29, Ensing posted a Youtube video about skincare that was sponsored by Sephora’s program reward style that was green-lit before she made it public. After publishing the video, Sephora reached out to Ensing after it was posted telling her to take down the video.
The video cannot be watched publicly, as it faced backlash from people on Twitter saying her support of Donald Trump was racist. Critics of the artist complained that her tweets on Jan. 6 were making light of the situation at the capital.
“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,” said Sephora.
“I’m not a racist. I’m not homophobic. I’m not a white supremacist. I’m not part of some violent group. You know it’s so weird. I only started being called these things by trolls on the internet after I came out as supporting our president,” said Ensing in response on Instagram.
Ensing’s legal team reached out to Sephora asking for the exact reason why her contract was terminated. Sephora implied that Ensing did not condemn the actions of January 6th in her political comments and that she made light of the situation.
“In my opinion, they’re trying to dig up reasons as to why they can disaffiliate me and not put it on my political views,” wrote Ensing.
Despite the backlash on Twitter, Ensing does have supporters through her sharing her platform on Newsmax and Fox Business. Non-profit PragerU released a video highlighting Ensing and the ongoing battle between conservatives and big tech. Fans of the Youtuber have taken over the hashtag #boycottsephora and have canceled their accounts with the brand.
“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. A beauty community that is welcoming, considerate, respectful, and inclusive for all,” said a Sephora representative to Insider.
On Feb. 1, Ensing posted an Instagram video stating, ‘Make Makeup Great Again.’ In the video, she thanked those who had supported her. Supporters continued to show their loyalty to the artist by continuing the trend #boycottsephora.
As of Feb. 10, Ensing is going to pursue legal matters against Sephora. In an updated video post, she goes over the right to defend her beliefs and her wishes to stand up for justice. She stated that “we all deserve to be heard,” and that is why she continues to move forward with seeking legal counsel.
The investigation is ongoing into whether or not the Ensing contract was cut due to her political and religious views or whether her tweets were the result of making light of the Capitol riots.