Sephora has announced it will close its US
stores on June 5 for diversity training, a month after a racial incident
involving R&B artist SZA.
SZA said she had been racially profiled while shopping at a Sephora store in
California.
Sephora told Reuters it was aware of the incident but said the training was
not “a response to any one event”.
In 2018, Starbucks held inclusion training amid racial profiling
allegations.
In a tweet on May 1st, SZA said while shopping at a Sephora store outside of
LA, an employee she identified as “Sandy” had “called security
to make sure I wasn’t stealing”.
The singer tweeted: “Lmao
Sandy Sephora location 614 Calabasas called security to make sure I wasn’t
stealing . We had a long talk. U have a blessed day Sandy”
Sephora responded at the time in a tweet: “You are a part of the Sephora family,
and we are committed to ensuring every member of our community feels welcome and
included at our stores.”
In 2018, website Refinery29
reported SZA had previously worked at Sephora.
SZA has been nominated for numerous Grammy awards, and recently collaborated
with Kendrick Lamar on the track All the
Stars which featured on the soundtrack of the film Black Panther.
In a Facebook post, Sephora said it would hold “inclusion
workshops” on the morning on June 5 at its US stores as well as its
distribution centers and corporate offices.
Emily Shapiro, a spokesperson for Sephora, told Reuters the store closures
were not “a response to any one event,” saying that planning for the
“inclusivity workshops” had been in progress for months.
In 2018, Starbucks shut all 8,000 company-owned branches in the US for an
afternoon to carry out “racial bias” training.
The move came after the coffee chain had to apologize over the arrest of two
black men who were waiting to meet someone in a Starbucks in Philadelphia in
May 2018.
The incident sparked calls for a boycott of Starbucks.
Jay-Z came under fire for his collaboration with Barneys New York as the store was accused of racially profiling two black customers.
Jay-Z, 43, said Saturday he’s being unfairly “demonized” for just waiting to hear all of the facts.
The rapper made his first statement about the controversy in a posting on his website. He has come under fire for remaining silent as news surfaced this week that two young black people said they were profiled by Barneys after they purchased expensive items from their Manhattan store.
Jay-Z came under fire for his collaboration with Barneys New York as the store was accused of racially profiling two black customers
An online petition and Twitter messages from fans have been circulating this week, calling on the star to bow out of his upcoming partnership with Barneys for the holiday season, which will have the store selling items by top designers, inspired by Jay-Z, with some of the proceeds going to his charity. He is also working with the store to create its artistic holiday window display.
Jay-Z defended himself, saying that he hasn’t spoken about it because he’s still trying to figure out exactly what happened.
“I move and speak based on facts and not emotion,” the statement said.
“I haven’t made any comments because I am waiting on facts and the outcome of a meeting between community leaders and Barneys. Why am I being demonized, denounced and thrown on the cover of a newspaper for not speaking immediately?” Jay-Z said, referring to local newspaper headlines.
The two Barneys customers, Trayon Christian and Kayla Phillips, said this week they were detained by police after making expensive purchases.
Trayon Christian sued Barneys, saying he was accused of fraud after using his debit card to buy a $349 Ferragamo belt in April. Kayla Philips filed a notice of claim saying she would sue after she was stopped by detectives outside the store when she bought a $2,500 Celine handbag in February.
As the criticism grew, Barneys said Thursday it had retained a civil rights expert to help review its procedures. The CEO of Barneys, Mark Lee, offered his “sincere regret and deepest apologies.”
Jay-Z — who rose from a life of crime in Brooklyn to become one of the most heralded rappers and one of entertainment’s biggest superstars — has in the past called for a boycott of labels perceived to be racist, and has become more political in recent years, from speaking out about the killing of black teenager Trayvon Martin to campaigning for President Barack Obama.
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