Why did Sephora drop Huda Beauty from its fall campaign? Backlash over brand's founder Huda Kattan's "antisemitic" TikTok video explored 

Sephora has reportedly dropped Huda Beauty from its upcoming fall experts campaign after the beauty brand's founder, Huda Kattan, faced significant backlash for an alleged antisemitic TikTok video. This marks a major development in the beauty industry, as Sephora's fall campaign is one of its largest for the year.

The reports follow Huda Kattan's criticism over a now-deleted TikTok video on July 27, 2025, which promoted supposed conspiracy theories about Israel. It claimed to connect the country to the World Wars, the 9/11 attacks, and the October 7 Hamas attacks. The Huda Beauty founder said:

"All of the conspiracy theories coming out and a lot of evidence behind them — that Israel has been behind World War I, World War II, September 11, October 7 — they allowed all of this stuff to happen. Is this crazy? Like, I had a feeling — I was like, ‘Are they behind every world war?’ Yes."

TikTok removed Huda Kattan's video shortly after she posted it to her account with 11 million followers. A spokesperson for the platform confirmed to CNN that the video was taken down because it violated their community guidelines.

Soon after the controversy, Sephora announced it was reviewing the situation to decide what to do amid calls to boycott Huda Beauty. This week, the beauty retailer reportedly dropped Huda Beauty from its "experts" fall campaign, making its stance on the issue clear.

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Sephora criticized Huda Beauty founder Huda Kattan's stance in a now-deleted TikTok video

Huda Beauty Influencer Lunch Hosted By Huda & Mona Kattan (Image via Getty)

A few days after Huda Kattan shared her video, a Sephora spokesperson told CNN that they were reviewing the incident internally. The spokesperson said:

“Sephora is driven by its mission to create a welcoming and inclusive shopping experience for all. We recognize that comments from one of our brand partners have raised concerns and want to be clear: promoting hate, harassment, or misinformation does not align with our values or code of conduct.

"We take this matter very seriously and can confirm we are actively reviewing this issue internally, including working with the brand.”

Founded in 2013, Huda Beauty is one of the most popular makeup and skin care brands in the world. The brand's first launch was a line of false eyelashes, and since then, it has continued to excel in eye makeup products like eyeshadows, eyeliners, and eyelashes.

This isn't the first time Kattan has faced controversy over her stance on geopolitics. She has been a vocal advocate of Gaza and has faced criticism for her controversial comments on Israel. Besides Sephora, the Anti-Defamation League has also criticized Kattan after she shared the video on TikTok.

"Huda Kattan built a brand around beauty but these antisemitic conspiracy theories are nothing short of ugly hate. Spreading vile myths about Jews to millions of followers isn’t just reckless, it’s dangerous," the CEO said.

The American Jewish Committee also criticized the Huda Beauty founder, calling her comments "centuries-old hate, repackaged and broadcast to millions."

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Huda Kattan's representatives have not yet issued an official statement about this. The businesswoman was included in the BBC 100 Women list in 2023 and appeared on Forbes' 2024 list of Most Powerful Women in Business.