Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Sephora – It’s Not Luxurious, Beautiful, or Me

Sephora, you have made a terrible mistake. As a beauty product company trying to build and maintain an image of style and class, allowing Kat Von D to name a lipstick color “Celebutard” was a grave error in judgment. What woman wants to wear an insult to the intellectually disabled on her lips?

We think you already understand why this is a problem but just in case you really don’t get it, here is a summary. Using the slur "retard" is not ok. It is offensive, hurtful, and it perpetuates a negative feeling toward those who were once classified as mentally retarded. There is no other basis for the insult. There is no excuse that makes it ok. All versions of the slang “tard” are contractions of two words, the second always being “retard”. So in the case of your lipstick, it would be: celebrity + retard = celebutard.

We call on you to change the name of Celebutard to something that actually reflects the image you want to promote. While Kat Von D might think it is “just f*cking lipstick” you know better. You know it means lost business, and a blow to your reputation. You know that it is shameful.

There is an entire campaign, R-Word: Spread the Word to End the Word, devoted to ending the practice of using retard and its derivatives. We urge you to check it out and make the pledge.

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T21 Brigadiera and friends, you can let Sephora know how much this means to you by contacting:

Mr. David Suliteanu - Chief Executive Officer and President
Calvin McDonald - incoming President and Chief Executive Officer
Alexis Rollier - Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Margarita Arriagada - Senior Vice President of Merchandising

at 415-284-3300 (use the company directory feature to be connected to anyone listed above)

Tweet Sephora at @Sephora

Helpful tweets might be:
Celebutard is not beautiful, it is hurtful. Do the right thing and change the name.
Celebutard, lipstick not even fit for a pig.
ULTA doesn't carry lipstick that insults the disabled. Will be shopping there this holiday season.
As long as you continue selling Celebutard, I will be shopping elsewhere.
Celebutard? Shame on you Sephora.

Sign the Petition

Also, please take a moment to sign the Change.org petition that asks Sephora to apologize and rectify the problem.