YouTube beauty blogger Laura Lee has been dropped or suspended from every one of her business partnerships in the midst of backlash over a racist tweet that found its way online.
via The Blast:
The Blast can exclusively confirm that beauty retail giant Ulta has cut ties with Lee’s makeup line, Laura Lee Los Angeles, following a review of the situation. “We have decided not to move forward with the launch of Laura Lee Los Angeles. Ulta Beauty values equality and inclusivity in all that we do,” a company spokesperson tells us.
Ulta, who had not yet set a date for the now-canceled release, had said earlier this week it was delaying the launch of her collection pending a review and the company was “disappointed to learn the nature of the tweets that have recently surfaced.”
Another Lee collaborator, Boxycharm, was the first to speak out on Lee’s resurfaced tweet, where she said: “Tip for all black people if you pull ur pants up you can run from the police faster.. #yourwelcome.” The subscription service’s CEO posted a video on Facebook condemning Lee’s words and cutting ties with her.
Diff Eyewear, a sunglasses company, released a limited edition collection with Lee earlier this summer. As of Monday, Lee’s products were no longer available on its website and the company was responding to customer complaints with: “We’ve taken this issue very seriously and do not support the comments that were made. At this time, our Peachy frames are unavailable for purchase. Thank you for your understanding.”
Morphe Brushes, who had a years-long sponsorship deal with Laura, scrubbed her from the website’s “Extended Fam” section, removed her favorites collection and have listed her products as sold out Wednesday morning. We reached out for an official statement and have not heard back.
The backlash against the influencer began earlier this month after a racist tweet she made in 2012 was dug up amid a feud with Jeffree Star‘s fanbase. Lee made multiple attempts to apologize. After temporarily deactivating her account, Laura tweeted a lengthy apology and followed up with a video post the next week.
You can watch her super dramatic apology video below.
https://youtu.be/PrWxrtBq15w
