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"Sephora does not make corporate donations to political candidates," a spokesperson told Newsweek.
Calls to boycott the beauty retailer Sephora continue to grow on TikTok, even after the retail giant denied viral rumors that it donated to President-elect Donald Trump's election campaign.
A Texas-based user who goes by @karessmarie4 on the platform appears to have reignited the movement with a video posted last Sunday. An overlaid text read: "Let's see who did and did not make donations to the Trump campaign...Sephora big big big donations!!"
The post added to earlier conversations on social media that linked the brand to Trump.
The election season, marked by heightened media coverage and celebrity endorsements of both candidates, underlined the intense scrutiny companies face around their real or perceived political connections. The accusation against Sephora is the latest in a series of corporate-political controversies.
The original post went viral, receiving 14 million views and prompting a wave of TikTok users to express their intention to boycott the multinational beauty company, with many sharing the sentiment in the comments section of other posts after comments on the original were disabled. Others disputed the claim, arguing a boycott seemed unfair.
In response to the uproar, a Sephora spokesperson told Newsweek: "It has come to our attention that there is incorrect information circulating on social media regarding company donations. Sephora does not make corporate donations to political candidates. Sephora's mission is to create a welcoming beauty shopping experience for all."
Newsweek has contacted the TikTok creator @karessmarie4 for comment via the app.
The TikTok creator doubled down on the boycott call in a subsequent video.
"Number one, I looked at the retail PACs and I looked at who they donated to. Number two, I looked at what companies were in these retail PACs—who was members of these retail PACs. I looked at what federations they were involved in, and that's how I came up with the assumption that Sephora was donating lots and lots of money via all these PACs and these federations. They're all connected," @karessmarie4 said in an apparent reference to the National Retail Federation and its political action committee, RetailPAC.
"Even if I did make a mistake in connecting the dots to Sephora through the federations that I thought they were involved with, that I saw they were involved with, all f****** well. They're still not a company you should be spending your money with. They're expensive as f***. And they're making record-breaking profits while paying American citizens s***** a** wages," the user added.
Did Sephora Donate To Trump's Campaign?
According to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit organization that tracks political financing, the National Retail Federation itself did not donate, "rather the money came from the organization's PACs, their individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals' immediate family members."
"The NRF does not comment on our membership process or on individual retailers," Danielle Inman, a senior director in media relations at the NRF, told Newsweek. "The NRF is prohibited from contributing to any campaign for federal office.
"RetailPAC did not contribute to either presidential campaign."
Individual donors associated with the NRF donated more than $106,000 to the Republican Party in this election cycle while giving
$45,000 to the Democratic Party, per Open Secrets.
The TikTok user wrote, "Do you think I care that they contribute to both parties? They are either all the way on our side or not."
Sephora is headquartered in Paris, France, and operates under its parent firm, LVMH. Individuals affiliated with the luxury goods conglomerate donated a total of $318 to Trump's 2024 campaign while giving a total of over $35,000 to Kamala Harris' campaign, OpenSecrets reported.
Since foreign nationals cannot contribute to federal elections, only LVMH's individual members, employees, owners, and those individuals' immediate family members who are U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents could have legally donated to candidates and party committees.
Data from OpenSecrets shows that LVMH did not contribute to any campaigns through PACs in 2024. The U.S. subsidiaries of foreign-based companies like LVMH can legally form PACs funded by American employees.
The controversy around where Sephora's cash lands follows a prolonged period of scrutiny for the brand, particularly over its parent company's owner, in light of the Israel-Hamar war.
Some supporters of the movement to boycott Israel-affiliated products over the conflict called attention to LVMH founder and CEO Bernard Arnault's investment in two Israeli businesses. Arnault acquired a stake in a cybersecurity firm in 2021 and a lab-grown diamond startup in 2022. The company has also faced backlash from supporters of Israel over featuring products from brands who have expressed support for Palestine.
These recurring concerns have magnified tensions between Sephora and its consumer base.
The 2016 Corporate Boycotts
This is not the first time that a big brand has been snubbed by the public due to allegations of it being closely affiliated with Trump.
During Trump's 2016 election campaign and subsequent presidency, a social media movement known as #GrabYourWallet emerged, encouraging consumers to boycott businesses associated with Trump and his extended family.
Anti-Trump activists targeted dozens of retailers for stocking items and brands owned by Trump or his daughter Ivanka, Business Insider reported at the time, including Bloomingdales, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and Amazon. Brands perceived to support Trump were also boycotted. The Guardian reported in 2016 that Democrats were burning New Balance sneakers after an executive appeared to show praise for Trump, although the brand denied an affiliation.
Comments
One viewer said they were off to another retailer after @karessmarie4's post.
Another added: "Not me! I will go without makeup if I have to!"
"I had made it my business to take back everything I purchased last week," a third user said.
Several TikTok users have posted their own monologues in the aftermath of the viral video, saying that Sephora did not donate to Trump.
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