A group of teenagers are coming under fire for “blackface” after they were caught using makeup at Sephora to darken their skin in a viral video that’s sparking outrage online.
TikTok is rife with videos ranting about “Sephora kids,” a popular term for youngsters who run amok in Sephora, using up the beauty chain’s supply of tester makeup and skincare products.
While this isn’t a totally new phenomenon, more people than ever are speaking out about the issue online, with many claiming to have seen young kids destroying Sephora’s ‘Drunk Elephant’ product displays.
Now, another incident with the youth at Sephora is going viral… and it’s sparking massive amounts of outrage among netizens who are demanding action from the company.
Teens slammed for “blackface” as Sephora video goes viral
In February 2024, USC track & field athlete Temi Ojora posted a video showing a group of teenage girls wearing dark-colored makeup on their faces in a Sephora located in Boston.
In the video, a woman — supposedly the mother of one of the girls — is confronted by a staff member, who warns the mom about how the “offensive” act could impact her kids’ lives.
“I walked over here and you were about to send a picture of that,” the staffer said. “You wanna document this? Go ahead. This is the kind of stuff that ruins jobs, college acceptances, let alone how incredibly offensive this is.”
Meanwhile, Ojora films the entire interaction, calling the girls and their mother “shameful” before the mom splits and the children duck out of the store.
“These group of teenage girls and their mothers come in and go to the makeup section to use the samples for blackface whilst giggling and making animal sounds,” she captioned the clip.
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According to a statement from Ojora, the girls’ guardian asked her to delete the video… but clearly, that didn’t happen, as the clip has now gone viral on TikTok. However, Ojora claims that TikTok “deleted” the video, which has now appeared in several stitches on the app.
Viewers are now demanding consequences for the girls and the mother involved, with some wondering why the group didn’t get kicked out for what many believed was blatant “blackface.”
“I’m so confused about Sephora’s policies, ’cause why don’t they get kicked out?” one viewer asked.
“They should be blacklisted from Sephora and Ulta Beauty,” another wrote.
“They were making monkey noises…. THEY KNEW!” another said.
Sephora has since provided a statement addressing the situation. “We are extremely disappointed by the behavior of these shoppers at our Prudential Center location, and as such, they were asked to leave our premises,” the company said. “Under no circumstance is this type of behavior tolerated at Sephora.”
Thus far, the mother has yet to be identified, and Ojora has yet to speak out further about the situation on social media.