Munroe Bergdorf calls out ‘racist’ L’Oréal for Black Lives Matter post
The model and trans activist was dropped from a campaign in 2017 over posts she made about racism in society.
By Will Stroude
Munroe Bergdorf has hit out at L’Oréal for sharing a post in support of Black Lives Matter, three years after the cosmetics brand publicly dropped her from a campaign after speaking out about racism.
Bergdorf, 32, was axed by the company 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”.
L’Oréal removed the transgender model and activist from a make-up campaign, saying her views were “at odds with [its] values”.
On Monday (1 June), the brand shared an altered version of its company slogan which read “Speaking out is worth it” alongside a message of support for ongoing Black Lives Matter protests in the US and around the world.
“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 [National Association for the Advancement of Colored People] to support progress in the fight for justice. #BlackLivesMatter.”
Resharing the post, Bergdorf blasted L’Oréal as she branded the company “racist snakes” for its apparent double standard.
“Excuse my language but I am SO angry. F**K YOU @lorealparis. You dropped me from a campaign in 2017 and threw me to the wolves for speaking out about racism and white supremacy”, Bergdorf wrote.
“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 even tried to get me to incriminate myself with pairing me up with your shady lawyers, when I had done NOTHING wrong. THAT is what you get for ‘speaking out’ when employed by @lorealparis. Racist snakes.”
The presenter and former Attitude cover star continued: “You do NOT get to do this. This is NOT okay, not even in the slightest.
“I said just yesterday that it would only be a matter of time before RACIST AF brands saw a window of PR opportunity to jump on the bandwagon.
“F**k you. F**k your ‘solidarity’. Where was my support when I spoke out? Where was my apology? I’m disgusted and writing this in floods of tears and shaking. This is gaslighting.
“If you care about me or #blacklivesmatter, don’t let @lorealparis get away with this.”