One of the world’s biggest beauty influencers has been ‘cancelled’ by fans after sharing ‘vile anti-Semitic’ conspiracy theories online – with companies such as Boots urged to pull her products from stores.
Huda Kattan, the multi-millionaire founder of Huda Beauty, has in the past stated she does not want ‘blood money’ from Israeli customers and has repeatedly reaffirmed her pro-Palestinian stance on her social media accounts.
In July, the Iraqi-American make-up artist, who boasts 57 million followers on Instagram alone, was accused of ‘denying the Holocaust’ after sharing a video to her TikTok channel from her home in Dubai, saying: ‘Are you seeing what I’m seeing?
‘All of the conspiracy theories coming out and a lot of evidence behind them thatIsrael has been behind the First World War, the Second World War, September 11 and October 7.’
At the time, the American Jewish Committee condemned it as ‘the spread of vile anti-Semitic conspiracy theories’, and the post was taken down – with Huda expressing in a later video that her message had been ‘misconstrued’.
Despite the fierce backlash, this week, Ms Kattan’s face was splashed over the Boots’ store in Covent Garden,advertising Huda Beauty’s three-step ‘easy routine’ for ‘an airbrushed complexion’.
The company is now facing pressure to pull all products from the 41-year-old’s $500million make-up line, with activists threatening to boycott the stores until they have done so. Boots has said it is ‘discussing’ the issue with the brand as a ‘priority’.
Deborah Lyons, designer and co-founder of Fashion and Beauty Against Anti-Semitism (FABAA), told the Telegraph: ‘It’s shocking – especially considering the accountability we expect nowadays for issues like racism and sexual harassment.’
Beauty influencer Huda Kattan, the founder of $500million Huda Beauty, has faced calls to be cancelled after making ‘vile anti-Semitic’ comments online (pictured in June)
Mark Gardner, chief executive of the Community Security Trust, added: ‘Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but something this ugly is very simple.
‘Huda Kattan has promoted vile extremism against Jews. If this were about any other minority group, Boots wouldn’t hesitate for one moment.’
On X/Twitter, Field Of David, a grassroots movement that ‘fights antisemitism and promotes facts about Israel’, shared a letter petitioning Boots to urgently stop stocking Huda Beauty products.
A representative wrote: ‘This letter is going to Boots, to urge them to stop stocking Huda Beauty.
‘Founder Huda Kattan regularly posts anti-Jewish sentiments on social media. She’s accused Jews of being responsible for practically everything from World War 2 to 9/11. These vile conspiracy theories are dangerous.’
Meanwhile another X user wrote: ‘I won’t be shopping at Boots while this person is used in your advertising.’
Tagging the brand on social media, someone else asked: ‘Are you still stocking Huda Beauty products? She blamed Jews for both World Wars. She’s an anti-Semite.’
Referring to an article referencing Sephora’s apparent ‘dropping’ of Huda Beauty, another person wrote: ‘Looks like none of this bothers @bootsuk. Antisemitism pays.’
Despite fierce backlash on social media, this week, Huda’s face was splashed over the Boots’ store in Covent Garden (pictured)
The company is now facing pressure to pull all products from the 41-year-old’s $500million make-up line, with activists threatening to boycott the stores
Those leading the backlash hope that Boots will follow in the footsteps of other companies, such as Sephora, who issued a statement last month saying they were ‘actively reviewing’ the issue after more than 33,000 people signed a petition on Change.org urging Sephora to remove all Huda Beauty products.
Following the statement, Kattan, who has also faced backlash from the LGBTQ community in the past, was noticeably absent from their autumn campaign.
In a statement released last month, Sephora said: ‘Sephora is driven by its mission to create a welcoming and inclusive shopping experience for all.
‘We recognise 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.
‘Again, thank you for sharing your concerns with us.’
In August, Huda, who is originally from Tennessee and now lives in Dubai, appeared to address the controversial deleted clip in a candid six-minute video addressing the camera.
The beauty tycoon said there had been a ‘smear campaign’ against her, but had herself decided to delete the video after it was ‘misconstrued’.
Huda addressed her comments in a tearful video in August, saying she had deleted the original video, which had been ‘misconstrued’
‘It’s no secret that I have been speaking out about Palestine for quite some time,’ she said.
‘And that happened as a result of me learning about the Palestinian cause, feeling really frustrated and seeing so much injustice happening to the people in Palestine, the children in Gaza, things that I honestly don’t understand how anyone can justify.’
Huda said she has ‘always tried to use my voice’ and acknowledged she has ‘opened myself up to a lot of things’ before it’s ‘safe’ to speak out.
She added: ‘I do want to address being called an anti-Semite. Because I would never condone any hate of any kind, and that includes Jewish hate. The fact I even have to say that is so weird to me because it’s so obvious. But sometimes you have to be clear about where you stand.
‘I posted a video recently criticising some of the actions of the state of Israel. I never said anything about Jews or even Israeli people. Honestly, I would never talk about any people because I stand against hate and discrimination. The video was misinterpreted and completely misused, and words were put into my mouth.
‘The video is not up anymore. TikTok is saying they took the video down, but I’m the one who removed it myself. Not TikTok, not my team, because I chose to remove it.’
Huda said she had learned about the Holocaust ‘at school’ and it ‘affected me so badly’ – refuting allegations she had ‘not recognised’ it.
She said: ‘The narrative that came out, which I was so disappointed on, was that essentially I was not recognising the Holocaust, or I was basically saying Jews were creating the Holocaust, which was such a weird thing to even say. Why would I say that? It doesn’t even make any sense.’
Huda, who now lives in Dubai, has previously faced criticism from the LGBTQ community
Earlier this year, Sephora faced pressure to withdraw all Huda Beauty products from stores. Huda pictured in Sephora in Dubai in October 2024
‘It’s not fair that you can’t criticise the actions of Israel without being mislabelled.’
This month, Boots plastered Huda’s face over the windows of their Covent Garden store in images that sparked backlash after circulating on social media, advertising her ‘flawless base routine’.
The three-step routine comprises of the Huda £24 ‘Easy Blur Primer’, the £25.60 (reduced from £32) ‘Easy Blur Foundation’ and the £27.20 (reduced from £34) ‘Easy Bake Loose Setting Powder’.
Boots began stocking products from Huda Beauty in 2020 as part of its ‘Beauty Reinvention’ campaign, saying at the time it hoped to make the ‘iconic brand more accessible for customers’.
Following the recent furore, a Boots spokesperson told the Royale: ‘At Boots we take our core values of inclusivity, tolerance and kindness very seriously.
‘We have been discussing the issue directly with the brand as a priority and will actively continue to do so.
‘We have been absolutely clear on the importance of our inclusivity values in those discussions and will continue to closely monitor the situation.’
Huda Beauty is also still stocked by the likes of Selfridges, Harrods and Cult Beauty.
In January, Jewish activist Rochel Leah Taktuk made a viral video about beauty blogger Huda Kattan’s recent comments about Israel
Rochel, whose father is a famous American rabbi, told her 19,000 followers, ‘Huda hates Jews. Why is Sephora still selling her makeup?’
Some said they simply never liked her products and others said they would no longer shop at Sephora
Huda has previously shared statements including: ‘Zionists are the new Nazis’ and ‘If the Jews had it their way, they’d kill anybody that opposes them.’
She’s also shared other conspiracy theories, such as claims Israel was involved with the Genocide in the Congo.
Sephora, Huda Beauty’s exclusive North American retail partner, had faced similar pressure to halt product sales after customers threatened to boycott its stores.
In January,Jewish activist Rochel Leah Taktuk made a viral video about pro-Palestinian beauty blogger’s comments on Israel and asked: ‘Huda hates Jews. Why is Sephora still selling her makeup?’
Rochel, who tagged her father Rabbi Shmuley, started the video by saying, ‘I’ve rarely seen a person hate Jews and hate Israel as much as Huda Kattan and Sephora is still selling all of her stuff in their stores.’
In the video, Rochel accusedHuda of calling Zionism neo-Nazism, and shared multiple video clips from the Muslim beauty blogger’s Instagram.
‘Huda accused the US and Israel of making a ceasefire on Black Friday because they wanted more sales,’ Rochel said, before sharing videos of Huda asserting that claim.
In the original video, Huda said about the ceasefire: ‘We know it was done strategically during Black Friday to get people to spend money, because we weren’t.’
Kattan, the founder of her namesake Huda Beauty cosmetics line, previously reposted a clip made by writer and producer ‘Naley By Nature’ accusing Israel of colonization and apartheid
In a comment responding to the post, user Tohar Sagi warned the make-up artist her anti-Israel stance could result in a boycott of her products, to which she replied: ‘I don’t want blood money’
Rochel went on to explain, ‘Huda shared videos of a woman who said she wouldn’t condemn Hamas because they’re fighting for the Palestinian people.’
Rochel said that Huda told her followers that Israel ‘purposefully kills journalists in Gaza.’
Huda has previously said she did not want ‘blood money’ from Israeli customers, which caused a commotion on social media, especially with her Jewish shoppers.
Huda made it clear she did not want money from these potential beauty buyers and went on to tell her followers, ‘The revolution has started. We cannot be afraid to lose anything.’
Many people said they would no longer shop at Sephora until the beauty chain removed her products from their shelves.
‘As long as they sell that raving lunatic I’ll buy my makeup elsewhere,’ one declared.
‘She’s not scared to lose anything? Time for her to lose all her business and money,’ a commenter agreed.
In 2023, shortly after the October 7 attacks, Huda found herself at the centre of a social media stormafter sharing an anti-Israel video online.
The controversial video remains on Kattan’s account, where she has since shared another post in an appeal for UNICEF to send urgent aid to Gaza
She reposted creator Naley By Nature’s impassioned plea for Palestinian self-determination in which she branded ‘apartheid’ Israel’s retaliation air strikes in Gaza as ‘genocide…live on television’.
The filmmaker and producer went on to accuse Israel of ‘colonization’, and in a clear reference to the establishment of the Jewish state says: ‘There has been a slow genocide of Palestinians happening for 80 years.’
In an overt display of support, Kattan, who was born in OklahomaCity to Iraqi parents, shared Naley’s clip on her personal account, with the caption: ‘#freepalestine.’
The polarizing post inevitably drew hundreds of thousands of comments from users reacting to the beauty guru’s stance.
And when one user intimated a boycott of her products by Israeliwomen in response, Kattan fired back: ‘I don’t want blood money.’
Appearing to film herself on her phone, Naley began by saying: ‘I have been to both Israel and Palestine. I wouldn’t say only for a couple of days or weeks, I would say I lived in the West Bank. I was there for months.
‘I lived in the homes of Israelis and I lived in the homes of Palestinians.’
She added: ‘I see white people lecturing the children of colonization, the children of apartheid, the children of slavery that.. you know this is such a complex issue and, you know, we have no right to talk about it as if this is the first time that we have ever seen this.
Huda started a YouTube beauty tutorial channel in 2010 and now has millions of followers on YouTube and Instagram
‘We are literally watching genocide happen live on television. We are being gaslit in ways that I cannot even comprehend.
‘If there’s anything that I’ve learned in my time from Israel and Palestine it’s that this issue really isn’t that complicated, OK.’
She continued: ‘On the one hand you have Palestinians who simply want to be free, they want to live, they want to live on the land, they want to be treated like a human being, they want dignity.
‘And if you ask them to show you where their ancestors are buried, for hundreds of generations, they can point and show you where their ancestors are scattered.’
Shortly afterwards,Kattan posted an appeal for UNICEF, the United Nations’ agency for humanitarian aid to children, saying: ‘I’m horrified by the scenes coming out of Gaza. Time is running out for the children of Gaza; hundreds of children have already been killed or injured.
‘Hospitals are overwhelmed, and the numbers keep rising. No child should have to witness this!
‘UNICEF is on the ground providing support, but they need our help. In times of crisis, donations can make all the difference. We’ve donated to support the cause and send urgent aid.’
Her divisive opinions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are not the first time Huda has faced calls to be ‘cancelled’, as she previously faced accusations of homophobia from the LGBTQ+ community.
Huda Kattan attends the Ube Collection launch event on January 15, 2025 in Dubai
In a piece shared on Affinity Magazinein 2017, writerKeanu Balani criticised the make-up artists for not ‘including boys in make-up’ on her Instagram page.
Balani said at the time: ‘When you look at all of the people she reposts there is ONE similarity amongst all of the people. Race? Nope. Religion? Nope. Gender? YES. Nearly EVERY single person she re-posts on her Instagram is a female.
‘Now to some people this may not be a big issue, but as a boy in makeup I take serious offense to this. There are so many young and talented boys in makeup who use her products and tag her.’
That same year, X user Jesse Arreola claimed one of his friends wasn’t posted on Huda’s page due to being ‘a boy in make-up’.
Jesse alleged that Huda’s team had told his friend that they couldn’t ‘post him because of where we live’ – referencing strict rules in the United Arab Emirates.
On Reddit, another person added: ‘I remember people being upset with her for not supporting the LGBTQ community enough by not posting men in makeup or publishing any statements supporting the LGTBQ community.
‘In Dubai you can be criminalized for doing so, which is where she lives, so I thought this was asking way too much of her. I understand that in recent years she has made supportive statements publicly.’
Since the allegations were made, Huda Beauty has shown both men and women wearing make-up on their page.
Kattan began posting pictures of herself celebrating her birthday on the same weekend Israel was attacked.
She was staying at the Atlantis The Royal hotel, which bills itself as ‘the most ultra-luxury experiential resort in the world’.
She grew up in Oklahoma, Tennessee and Massachusetts before her family moved to Dubai in 2006.
She later came back to the United States and studied make-up in Los Angeles, where Eva Longoria and Nicole Richie were clients.
After returning to Dubai, she began a blog called Huda Beauty and in 2013 founded a cosmetics line with the same name with her two sisters, Mona and Alya, and her husband Christopher.
She found early success with Kim Kardashian wearing her false eyelashes – and now has an estimated person net worth of $510million.
She was even listed on theBBC 100 Women in 2023, while her success on social media has seen her products be stocked all around the world.
