Global beauty retail chain Sephora has reportedly removed Huda Beauty, the renowned cosmetic brand founded by Iraqi-American entrepreneur Huda Kattan, from its upcoming fall campaign, after she posted a video claiming Israel is the mastermind behind major political conflicts in the world.
Sephora’s fall campaign is one of the biggest and most anticipated campaigns of the year, featuring makeup icons, including Gucci Westman, Patrick Starr and Mario Dedivanovic.
In her August video posted on her official TikTok account, she said, “Israel has been behind WW1, WW2, Sept 11, Oct 7. They allowed all this to happen. They used Oct 7th as an excuse (for the atrocities in Gaza).”
Huda also alleged that pedophilia is a rampant issue in Israel. “What about all the pedophilia Israel has been hiding?” she claimed.
Her remarks come after a 38-year-old Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, a senior Israeli cyber official working under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, returned to Israel after being arrested in a child sex sting in Nevada, United States. He was released without charges.
Her TikTok video triggered widespread backlash from Western media, flagging her remarks as ‘anti-semitic’.
Kattan later clarified that her remarks had been misinterpreted, insisting they were aimed at Israeli policies and not at Jews or Judaism. She further alleged that critics were conducting a defamation campaign against her.
The video has since been deleted.
Sephora has maintained ambiguity over the row. In early August, a spokesperson issued a statement saying that they are reviewing the issue, but refrained from providing further details. According to reports, Huda Kattan was set to be a big anchor for its September launch promotion.
Huda’s stance for Palestinians
Huda Beauty’s removal from the upcoming fall campaign is not only a result of the TikTok video. The influencer-turned-entrepreneur has been vocal about the brutality faced by Palestinians in Gaza and across other Israeli-occupied territories, beginning from the Israel-Hamas war that started on October 7, 2023, on her social media accounts.
She has also donated USD 1 million to two humanitarian organisations in Gaza: Human Appeal and Doctors Without Borders.
Huda has also actively participated in CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities by donating 1 million AED to social causes.
Her stance for Palestinians has triggered widespread backlash from Western media, calling her anti-semitic.
About Huda Kattan
Huda Kattan is an Iraqi-American Influencer turned entrepreneur based in the UAE. Born and brought up in the USA, Huda was born to Iraqi immigrant parents.
She started her beauty journey as a makeup artist for Revlon. In 2013, she launched Huda Beauty, and one of her first products was false eyelashes released through Sephora. Slowly, other products, including eye shadow palettes, liquid lipsticks, lip liners, highlighter palettes, foundations, concealers, baking powders and liquid eyeshadows catapulted her to fame.
As of 2025, Huda has 54 million followers on Instagram.
Huda Beauty is headquartered in Dubai, UAE, and is one of the best-selling cosmetics brands in Sephora in the Middle East and Harrods in London.
