Major beauty brands cancel influencer Emma Claiir after she laughs about killing 2 cats in childhood
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA: An Australian influencer drew widespread criticism and was axed by major makeup and skincare brands after she confessed to killing two cats when she was a child. Emma Claiir, 28, shared the bizarre confession on ‘The Simply Chaotic’ podcast after co-host Kristy Jean asked her to tell a personal secret.
"I killed my cat...I was swinging my cat around. Like, I was thinking it was just a stuffed toy. And I accidentally let go of it,” the mother-of-one said. She added, "My sister did not speak to me for months and my mom was f**king fuming at me, and yeah, I killed it. And then if you really want to know more about me, I also killed my best friend’s cat.” She clarified that the animal died of "fright" not because of the injuries, it sustained after being hurled around. "I just want to say, I'm giggling about it now, but this happened years and years and years [ago]," Claiir said after sharing a laugh with Jean, according to Daily Mail.
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'You all need to chill'
Claiir's admission was quickly met with fierce backlash that prompted her to post a further explanation on her Instagram Story. In the explanation, she labeled her confession as “a bit of light [humor]” and asked her 106,000 followers to “chill.” “To the people [sic] offended by my story in today’s simply chaotic episode that I just shared … It happened 21 years ago. I was a small child … Accidents happen and you all need to chill. I hope that you are not the same person you were at nine years old (I could have been even younger you know haha) and I can confirm that after that accident I have been the mother moth to multiple cats including my baby Fred,” she wrote.
However, Claiir’s initial response went down like a lead balloon as Australian brand MCoBeauty, which had partnered with her in the past, announced that it has decided to drop Claiir as an ambassador. “It has come to our attention that Emma Claiir recently relayed a story on her podcast discussing an incident of animal cruelty from her childhood,” MCoBeauty said in a statement on its Instagram Story. “We were dismayed by this story, and will no longer be working with Emma in the future. Here at MCoBeauty, we take instances like this extremely seriously and do not condone animal cruelty of any kind. Thank you to all of those who have taken the time to bring this situation to our attention,” the beauty brand added.
'We stand by our values'
After MCoBeauty’s announcement, fashion giant Princess Polly also announced that they will no longer be working with Claiir. The brand shared an official statement on Instagram, saying that their brand has a “zero-tolerance stance on any form of animal abuse.” Lust Minerals also shared a lengthy Instagram post confirming that ended their campaign with Claiir. "We are deeply saddened by the events that have taken place regarding Emma Claiir. Lust Minerals does not condone any cruelty of any kind. We stand by our values - our products are cruelty-free and vegan-certified," the statement read. It added ‘'As a company, we take matters like this very seriously and have therefore made the decision to end all activity with Emma Claiir. Our community is our number one priority.'
Just hours after being dropped by the brands, Claiir issued another statement apologizing for joking about animal cruelty. "I am well aware that the story was not light humor and very serious," she wrote. She added, "It was not intended to come across the way that it did as it was simply just a story from the past about an accident [when I was] a little kid, but I can see how it has come across like that." Claiir said she had "taken time to think about [her] actions" and concluded it was "not something [she was] proud of" especially given how the incident had affected her entire family.