Model Munroe Bergdorf slams L'Oréal Paris, accuses brand of using protests as PR opportunity

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Jun 4, 2020

Model and activist Munroe Bergdorf has accused L'Oréal Paris of using the current movement for racial justice sweeping the United States as a "PR Opportunity."

Bergdorf's response came after L'Oréal posted a message of support to the black community on social media, as protests for racial justice continue across the U.S.

"L'Oréal Paris stands in solidarity with the Black community, and against injustice of any kind," the company wrote. "We are making a commitment to the @naacp to support progress in the fight for justice. #BlackLivesMatter."

In 2017, Bergdorf became L'Oréal's first transgender model when she was tapped as the star of the brand's newest beauty campaign. However, just days after the partnership was announced, Bergdorf was dropped due to comments she made online about institutional racism. At the time, the beauty brand publicly tweeted about their decision to end the partnership with Bergdorf, claiming that her comments were "at odds with our values." 

Following L'Oréal's most recent post, Bergdorf took to her own social media accounts to call out the brand. 

"Excuse my language but I am SO angry," Bergdorf wrote on Twitter. "F*CK YOU @lorealparis. You dropped me from a campaign in 2017 and threw me to the wolves for speaking out about racism and white supremacy. 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 do NOT get to do this. This is NOT okay, not even in the slightest."

"I said yesterday that it would only be a matter of time before RACIST AF brands saw a window of PR Opportunity. Fuck you. Fuck your 'solidarity'. Where was my support when I spoke out? I'm disgusted and writing this in floods of tears."

After posting, Bergdorf received multiple messages of support, including from writer and fashion consultant, Aja Barber. 

"When you fire a black person for talking about white supremacy, but then you want to post about it on social media three years later, that is disingenuous. That is your attempt to make money off of black people being murdered in the streets." 

L'Oréal has yet to publicly acknowledge Bergorf's tweets. 

Bergdorf has since released a follow up statement on Instagram, further condemning the company for their silence. 

"[L'Oréal's] choice to ignore me...speaks volumes. So does their choice to not engage with the thousands of black community members and allies who have left comments of concern on their last two posts, in response to their claim to support the black community, despite an evident history of being unwilling to talk about the issues that black people face globally because of white supremacy." 

FashionNetwork.com has reached out to L'Oréal for comment.