Make-up chain Sephora said it is pulling former reality star Kat Von D’s ‘Celebutard’ lipstick shade after complaints from disability advocates and others that the name is degrading and in poor taste.
THe name didn’t get much recognition until a mother saw the ad on a mommy blog, reports 11Alive.com in Atlanta. Emily Norman, whose young children both have disabilities, used the Internet to bring attention to the name.
“I could not believe that a successful company in 2013 would use such a derogatory and mocking name for their lipstick,” Norman told 11Alive. "It's more than that to millions of families with children that are trying to stop the use of a word that is so offensive."
The group All About Developmental Disabilities also joined her fight to get the lipstick pulled. “It's shocking that a company in this day and age would even consider such a demeaning name for a product,”executive director Kathy Keeley told 11Alive.
Sephora spokesman Stefanie Goodsell later issued a statement, saying that they have pulled the product after hearing that it offended its customers. “It has come to our attention that the name of one shade of a lipstick we carry has caused offense to some of our clients and others. We are deeply sorry for that, and we have ceased sale of that shade both in our stores and online,” the statement reads.
The former L.A. Ink star was not happy about Sephora’s move. According to People, she tweeted, “At the end of the day, it’s just a f—— lipstick.” The tweet has since been deleted.
image: NBC