A hijab-wearing model and beauty blogger is stepping down as one of the faces of L’Oreal’s latest campaign due to the backlash from her prior anti-Israel tweets.
The model, Amena Khan, issued a statement on Twitter apologizing for her past tweets.
“I deeply regret the content of the tweets I made in 2014, and sincerely apologise for the upset and hurt they have caused,” wrote Khan. “Championing diversity is one of my passions, I don’t discriminate against anyone. I have chosen to delete them as they do not represent the message of harmony that I stand for.”
Khan added that she has decided to resign from the L’Oreal campaign “because the current conversations surrounding it detract from the positive and inclusive sentiment that it set out to deliver.”
— Amena (@amenaofficial) January 22, 2018
A L’Oreal representative told the Jerusalem Post, “We appreciate that Amena has since apologized for the content of these tweets and the offense they have caused. L’Oreal Paris is committed to tolerance and respect toward all people. We agree with her decision to step down from the campaign.”
Khan announced on January 14 in an Instagram post that she would be one of the faces of L’Oreal’s Paris Elvive World of Care Campaign, which would have made her the first hijab-wearing female Muslim to be featured in a major hair campaign. Her tweets that garnered backlash involved her calling Israel “an illegal state” as well as stating that “Israel = Pharaoh” since both are “child murderers.” She also accused Israel of committing “the brutal murder of Palestinians.”
The aforementioned tweets were deleted, but the Internet is forever, as Khan learned the hard way.
