Sephora will briefly close its store doors this week to host a set of “inclusion workshops” for its employees, one month after singerSZAsaid she was racially profiled at a California location.
The company’s storefronts, including distribution centers and corporate offices, will close on Wednesday morning for staffers to complete the training, Sephora announced in a Facebook post.
“These values have always been at the heart of Sephora, and we’re excited to welcome everyone when we reopen,” the post read.
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Sephora operates more than 460 stores across the Americas, according to itswebsite.
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“Lmao Sandy Sephora location 614 Calabasas called security to make sure I wasn’t stealing,” she wrote April 30. “We had a long talk. U have a blessed day Sandy.”
She followed up: “Can a bitch cop her fenty in peace er whut,” referring toRihanna’s Fenty Beauty makeup line.
The complaint caught Rihanna’s eye, prompting the “Needed Me” singer to send SZA a Fenty Beauty gift card and handwritten note.
“Go buy yo Fenty Beauty in peace sis!” wrote Rihanna, according toNBC News.
Sephora responded to SZA’s complaint in two separate tweets, writing that they were sorry to hear of her experience and appreciated her bringing it to their attention.
“We want to let you know we take complaints like this very seriously and are actively working with our teams to address the situation immediately,” the tweet read. “You are part of the Sephora family, and we are committed to ensuring every member of our community feels welcome and included at our stores.”
Many of the singer’s fans subsequently responded, either claiming similar situations had happened to them, or calling for diversity and inclusion training.
“I don’t buy anything from @Sephora because of this!” one user wrote. “They are racist and really all I do when I use[d] to shop there was walk up to Rihanna’s products only and them [motherf—kers] would have the ugliest mad ass look on their faces!”
“The Sephora employee insinuated I stole when my rewards clearly stated I made a purchase and they couldn’t replace what I bought with what their worker gave me. They seriously need better training,” added another.
SZAhas saidshe used to work in a Sephora store, and previously toldRefinery29she worked in the skin-care department.
source: people.com
