L’Oréal offers Munroe Bergdorf advisory position as it commits €50,000 to Black and trans causes

Munroe Bergdorf has revealed that L’Oréal has offered her an advisory position and committed €50,000 to Black and trans causes, three years after the company dropped her from a campaign for calling out racism.

Bergdorf, 32, was axed by L’Oréal in 2017 over social media posts shared in the wake of a neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in which she wrote that white people were guilty of “racial violence”.

The model and trans activist had called out the brand earlier this month after it posted a message of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, describing the move as a “PR opportunity” from a “racist” brand.

In a new statement posted on Tuesday (9 June), Bergdorf revealed L’Oréal new president, Delphine Viguier, had contacted her directly to “express regret” over the her treatment.

“We had an open and constructive conversation, she listened to what I had to say and expressed regret for how the situation was handled three years go”, Bergdorf wrote.

The model added that L’Oréal had promised to €25,000 (£22,255) to British trans youth charity Mermaids, a €25,000 (£22,255) to UK Black Pride, and had offered her a consultancy position on its Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board.

I have spoken with @loreal, please swipe for full statement.

Thank you everyone for having my back with this matter over the past three years, it hasn’t been easy.

Looking forward to new beginnings and a new positive relationship with the L’Oreal team.

Munroe x pic.twitter.com/DxltLF8Z7j

— Black Lives Matter ✊🏾 (@MunroeBergdorf) June 9, 2020

“As an activist, part of my work is to encourage big businesses to understand their responsibility with regards to diversity and inclusion”, Bergdorf continued.

“It’s imperative that in all industries, a wide range of people from different backgrounds and experiences are in the room at all levels and in decision making roles, to reduce oversight and and to create a product that is built with all people in mind.”

She went on: “I believe in accountability and progress, not cancellation and grudges. While what happened three years ago was extremely traumatic for me personally and profesionally, sitting on a board to provide a voice and a champion for black, trans an queer voices in the beauty industry is important to me.

“It feels good to have closure on this matter and I look forward to new beginnings with the L’Oréal team.”

Bergdorf added: “Over the past three years I have realised my responsibility as an activist is to help unite us as people, regardless of our identity.

“We are all at an exciting time of change. I hope this reconciliation is proof we can all find a way to put aside our differences and work together to push for a more progessive, fair and equal work.”