USA TODAY National
Popular beauty brand Huda Beauty pulled their partnership with "Love Island USA" Season 7 contestant Huda Mustafa after a recent racism scandal.
In an Instagram post shared on Oct. 31, the cosmetics company addressed the actions of one of their "recent collaborators" who has "displayed behavior that does not align with our values."
Mustafa made headlines this week after a clip from a recent livestream with her partner, Louis Russell, from Netflix's "Too Hot To Handle" and "Perfect Match," went viral on social media when a fan used a racial slur toward Mustafa's "Love Island" costar and model Olandria Carthen.
"We are truly disappointed by Huda Mustafa's recent live and we take all forms of racism very seriously," the statement said. "While we don't believe her actions reflect her character, we found them deeply upsetting."
It continued: "We know that many members of our community and team were hurt and offended by these actions."
Huda Mustafa, boyfriend Louis Russell's livestream included a racial slur
During a recent livestream on Russell's Instagram, Mustafa and Russell answered a phone call from an unknown caller who used the racial slur directed at Carthen.
Video shared online by TMZ shows the pair seemingly taken aback, laughing before ending the call with video showing Russell saying: "Whoa, hey, hey."
"As a result," Huda Beauty stated, "We have decided to end our partnership and remove any related content from our social platforms and in-store displays."
The company continued, "Accountability is incredibly important in moments like this, and we hope that meaningful change can come from it."
Olandria Carthen responds to the Huda Mustafa incident in a statement: 'Call for real accountability'
In an Instagram story on Wednesday, Oct. 29, Carthen called the language in the livestream unacceptable, adding that she does not condone racism of any kind, "not in anger, not as a joke, not ever."
"Words like that carry generations of pain, and pretending otherwise only keeps the cycle going," Carthen, in part, said. "Defending it, laughing about it, or making excuses is even worse. I will not let this moment derail my purpose of uplifting my community. I'm standing firm in who I am and using this as an opportunity to call for real accountability and awareness."
She vowed to make a personal donation to organizations that educate and uplift the Black community, such as UNCF, NAACP and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, encouraging others to do the same.
Carthen has previously publicly expressed her disappointment with Mustafa. During the Season 7 reunion, which aired on Aug. 25, Carthen criticized Mustafa for failing to address the racism her fans displayed toward her and another castmate, Chelley Bissainthe, after they all left the Fijian villa.
Huda issues an apology after downplaying the incident
After initially downplaying the outrage over her reaction, Mustafa posted another statement on Wednesday publicly apologizing to Carthen.
Mustafa said she took the majority of the day to reflect and collect her thoughts to ensure her statement did not come off as disingenuous. She admitted that her brief statement, shared late Tuesday, Oct. 29, failed to fully take accountability for her actions.
"Olandria – it is now clear that this comment was targeted at you, and I apologize for my immediate reaction. My reaction in that moment came from being caught off guard, not from finding the word or situation funny. It was a nervous, uncomfortable reaction that I recognize was inappropriate," she wrote.
"I want to be clear that I do not condone or tolerate anyone who uses such language, and I strongly encourage the individual responsible to reflect deeply on their words and the harm they’ve caused."
She added that she would make a personal donation to the NAACP and encouraged others to do the same.
Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Huda Beauty pulls partnership with 'Love Island USA' star Huda after racism scandal
Reporting by Taylor Ardrey and Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Raw Story
Cover Media
The List