In response to outrage across the Internet, cosmetics giant Sephora, on Nov. 6 pulled a questionably named lipstick from its shelves and issued an apology. The lipstick? From Kat Von D’s “Painted Love Lipstick” line that offered a nude peach beige shade named “Celebutard” the meaning of which, defined by the Urban Dictionary is: “A famous stupid person. Typically refers to the current crop of vapid celebrities.”
Kat Von D, a.k.a. Katherine von Drachenberg, a tattoo artist best known for her reality show “LA Ink,” launched her makeup line, exclusively at Sephora, in 2008. The “Celebutard” lipstick is part of the Kat Von D makeup line that includes a full spectrum of cosmetics. The “Painted Love Lipstick” line includes names that are intended to be edgy; like Backstage Bambi, Lolita, and Underage Red.
“Glee” star Lauren Potter, who has Down syndrome, took to Twitter on Nov. 5 to express her outrage with a very simple, yet poignant post: “Really @sephora celebutard? Not cool”. And by yesterday Nov. 6, Kat Von D’s “Painted Love Lipstick” with the offending name, was no longer available. In conjunction with pulling “Celebutard,” Sephora issued a statement to consumers. It has come to our attention that the name of one shade of a lipstick we carry has caused offense to some of our clients and others. We are deeply sorry for that, and we have ceased sale of that shade both in our stores and online.
Great news, as we endeavor to become a more sensitive and caring society. Unfortunately, in the zeal to call attention to one particular offensively named product, another, “Underage Red,” was apparently completely missed! With daily headlines screaming of crimes against minors, “Underage Red” seems like a highly inappropriate name for lipstick. This begs to question, are we a society that screams outrage for the sake of screaming or do we sincerely care about protecting those that aren’t able to protect themselves?
