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Amanda Ensing: Sephora cuts ties with Republican beauty influencer for 'not aligning with their values'

After the Capitol Hill riots, Ensing had shared a tweet that said, 'There’s not enough popcorn in the world for what’s about to happen'

The beauty store Sephora has put a halt to all future partnerships and cut ties with beauty influencer Amanda Ensing for being a conservative. The makeup shop responded to liberal activists who expressed their fury over the brand continuing their partnership with the Republican and said that she “shared content on social media that is not aligned with Sephora’s values around inclusivity".

Ensing shared beauty content, along with some posts regarding standard conservative views, such as her support for the Second Amendment. In fact, after the Capitol Hill riots, Ensing had shared a tweet, "There’s not enough popcorn in the world for what’s about to happen," which attracted much flak from the internet as people believed she was being insensitive. She further tweeted, "The left: I hate it here. America is embarrassing. Only we can riot & loot. Defund the police. Just do what the government tells you & don’t ask questions. The right: Let’s fight for freedom. We love the USA. Defend the Constitution. We support our Military & Law enforcement." On January 6, she had even posted about the people gathering at the Capitol and wrote, "Still think Biden won?"

The drama didn't end there. People also pointed out the fact that Ensing had only recently started to identify as mixed race. While she is half Puerto Rican, some have pointed out that she only started to darken her skin and show off her curly dark hair after she became more successful. Her switch to calling herself a "mixed chick" on her Instagram bio seemingly came after she told Jackie Aina that BIPOC influencers get more deals than White influencers. Twitter user @tokyyobarbie explained that what Ensing was doing is called Blackfishing (a type of racist behavior where a person tries to appear Black or mixed race as a "trend", which is a form of cultural appropriation. Other brands began to distance themselves from her. 

Social media activists pointed out her behavior to Sephora, which then took a stand. One user had written on an Instagram post, "Didn't love Sephora before, but after seeing you sponsor Amanda Ensing, a supporter of the dangerous MAGA group, I'm out."

Sephora wrote back, "Thank you for reaching out and bringing this to our attention. We were made aware that Amanda Ensing, an influencer contracted through one of our external vendors’ campaigns, recently shared content on social media that is not aligned with Sephora’s values around inclusivity. As soon as we were informed, we made the decision to cease all programming with Amanda and will not be engaging her for future partnerships,” Sephora wrote in a response to the social media activist. 

However, conservative women have taken up cudgels on Ensing's behalf. "To any conservative woman out there that shops at @Sephora…Take your money elsewhere,” Republican political commentator and activist Courtney Holland wrote. She added that Ensing has “brought them LOADS of business to them over the years with her millions of followers across her platforms and promotion of their products.”

Ensing tweeted on Friday night that her legal team has asked the company for more information as to why they are ceasing the contract. She wrote, "Thank you  My legal team has asked @Sephora for more information as to why they are ceasing the relationship. I am disappointed that a brand that claims to be inclusive seems to be excluding conservative voices. I will keep everyone updated."

There were many on the internet who supported Ensing, while others continued to slam her. Many spoke up for Ensing and said that Sephora was going against 'the values' of America. "@Sephora I will never shop at your store again. I will not shop in a store that openly discriminates against those who value the Constitution and America as a whole! #Sephora #discrimination #AllLivesMattter #makeup I support #patriots like @AmandaEnsing," one wrote. 

Others supported the brand. "You do realize when you’re contracted by a company or they choose to work with you they have their ethics they expect everyone to abide by. Clearly they don’t want to fuck with Amanda supporting domestic terrorism, and they are absolutely in their right to drop her," one person wrote. "I don't buy beauty products, I'm naturally smashing. But since I saw all these right wing snowflakes whining about Sephora, I decide to purchase gift packs from Sephora to give to the women in my life. Thanks for helping me decide to support Sephora," one wrote. 

Another tweeted, "What Legal Team you have foolish woman? You are taking advantage of this situation to score some cash on @sephora ‘s back? You are despicable. You are a bigot and a racist. We all have watched and saved stuff you posted. Are you insane??" One user on the internet tweeted, "Fuck Sephora. I'll never make my first purchase from them."