A video has been circulating that depicts a group of teenagers in the Sephora beauty store using makeup samples to put on blackface. Netizens criticised both the actions of the girls as well as the company for not taking immediate action to remove the teenagers from the shop. While Sephora did later share a statement condemning the incident, social media users were still taken aback by the entire situation and questioned why no one intervened sooner.

Under no circumstance is this type of behavior tolerated at Sephora.

— Sephora (@Sephora) February 14, 2024

The video, which gained widespread attention after it was shared by @thatdaneshguy on 10 February 2024, now has over 1.9 million views and shows a woman—seemingly one of the girls’ mums—alongside a group of teenage girls who are walking around the shop with their faces covered in dark makeup. In the footage, there is also a Sephora sales associate casually chatting with the woman and standing by as this plays out.

@thatdaneshguy

This behavior is absolutely unacceptable anywhere, but it is even worse in the US and on Black History Month #stitch with @TOJ🧚🏽‍♀️

♬ original sound - Danesh

While a number of onlookers filmed the incident and expressed their disgust at the girls’ actions, no member approached them or removed them from the store at any point.

A lot of netizens shared their upset and anger in the comments section with one user noting “This behaviour is truly disgusting” while another wrote, “This proves that racism will never die.”

Supposedly, the incident took place in Boston with some reports revealing that the girls were also heard running around the store making monkey noises.

Blackface is an incredibly racist and dehumanising action that should be treated as a severe hate crime. It’s also important to note that it is currently Black History Month in the US.

Sephora later released another statement in which the company claimed that the girls were immediately asked to leave:

Under no circumstance is this type of behavior tolerated at Sephora.

— Sephora (@Sephora) February 14, 2024

However, netizens are calling bullshit on this:

@thatdaneshguy

Sephora blackface update. Sephora responds!@Danesh

♬ original sound - Danesh

While it was good that those filming the incident spoke up and condemned the teenagers, it’s clear from the video that the Sephora staff did not react appropriately.