Sephora issues statement after video of teenage girls using makeup for 'blackface' goes viral. Watch

Sephora issued a statement as the video went viral and sparked outrage online. (Image: X)

A video of a group of teenage girls applying darker shades of makeup to mimic a “blackface” has sparked outrage on the internet. The incident, which happened at one of Sephora’s stores in the US, has been deemed as “incredibly offensive” by several people online. The backlash also prompted Sephora to issue a statement.

In the clip that was originally shared on TikTok, three teenage girls can be seen applying darker makeup on their faces to do a “blackface”. One of Sephora’s employees was also seen telling off an older person with the group. “This is the stuff that can influence jobs, college acceptances, let alone how incredibly offensive this is,” the employee said.

Another employee at the outlet who was recording the footage called the scenario “shameful”.

“There’s no way they thought going into SEPHORA AT A MALL would be the perfect place to put on blackface like?” a user who shared the video on X wrote.

Dear @Sephora,

You have an amazing employee who stepped in when a group of teenagers and their mothers walked in and used your samples to do blackface while recording themselves making animal noises.

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I hope this goes viral so this young woman gets a raise instead of fired for… pic.twitter.com/5UYlboPVvu

— Ryan Shead (@RyanShead) February 12, 2024

During Black History Month??? The kids in sephora are already bad enoughpic.twitter.com/wt8W3Ni3gG

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— Princess Lilibet's (@rae_averi) February 9, 2024

NEW: Teen girls use dark makeup to dress up in what appears to be “black face” at a Boston Sephora location.

The group of three girls was confronted by a worker who blasted them for their “incredibly offensive” behavior.

It gets worse. The person who filmed the video claims… pic.twitter.com/WA1qhLPrfL

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 13, 2024

As the video went viral and came under the collective ire of social media, Sephora issued a statement saying, “Sephora’s top priority is to create a welcoming and inclusive shopping experience for all. We are extremely disappointed by the behavior of these shoppers at our Prudential Center location, and as such, they were asked to leave our premises. Under no circumstance is this type of behavior tolerated at Sephora.”

The company’s statement didn’t offer more details regarding the incident. The person who posted the clip on TikTok said the incident left her "so disgusted and disturbed," NBC10 Boston reported.

She also claimed that the group was also giggling and making animal sounds while putting on a blackface at the store.

Meanwhile, blackface is a racist tradition that dates back to American minstrel shows, post-Civil War performances where white actors wore dark makeup on their skin as they put on songs and skits mocking Black people.