Shea Moisture Apologizes After Whitewashing Accusations

Shea Moisture Apologizes

Shea Moisuture has come under fire for a new commercial, which some label as white-washing. In the new video, the natural hair product line features multiple white women, along with women of color. See the video below.

A number of people took to social, criticizing the ad. See a few reactions below.

When you’ve never used a Shea Moisture product in your life but you can never pass up a good dragging ??? pic.twitter.com/Jzz3m4o3TT

— Clarkisha Kent (@IWriteAllDay_) April 24, 2017

.@SheaMoisture After all of the support given to shea moisture by Black women and the natural hair community this is what we get?

— Black Girl Culture (@blkgirlculture) April 24, 2017

i dont have the energy to be all the way mad at shea moisture. but feel free to dm me a new haircare brand to love. ?

— LOVEY (@littleintrovert) April 24, 2017

.@SheaMoisture To clarify: the problem is NOT that white women are featured in this. It’s that Shea moisture decided to feature 3a and above hair types

— Black Girl Culture (@blkgirlculture) April 24, 2017

Shea Moisture could have just said “All Hair Matters” then ended the ad over a bottle of Pepsi.

— Janan (@jananamirah) April 24, 2017

The company has since pulled the video and issued a statement. Check it out below.

Wow, okay – so guys, listen, we really f-ed this one up. Please know that our intention was not – and would never be – to disrespect our community, and as such, we are pulling this piece immediately because it does not represent what we intended to communicate. You guys know that we have always stood for inclusion in beauty and have always fought for our community and given them credit for not just building our business but for shifting the beauty landscape. So, the feedback we are seeing here brings to light a very important point. While this campaign included several different videos showing different ethnicities and hair types to demonstrate the breadth and depth of each individual’s hair journey, we must absolutely ensure moving forward that our community is well-represented in each one so that the women who have led this movement never feel that their hair journey is minimized in any way. We are keenly aware of the journey that WOC face – and our work will continue to serve as the inspiration for work like the Perception Institute’s Good Hair Study/Implicit Association Test that suggests that a majority of people, regardless of race and gender, hold some bias towards women of color based on their textured or natural hair. So, you’re right. We are different – and we should know better.
Thank you all, as always, for the honest and candid feedback. We hear you. We’re listening. We appreciate you. We count on you. And we’re always here for you. Thank you, #SheaFam, for being there for us, even when we make mistakes. Here’s to growing and building together…

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