A Hong Kong-based makeup brand has been criticised for naming a liquid blusher after Anne Frank.
Woke Up Like This (WULT) labelled one of its blushers Dream Like Anne as part of a new collection to celebrate female empowerment.
The product was launched during Sexual Health Awareness month and was included with other items named after famous women.
Each product was named after ‘inspiring, famous women in hopes to inspire WULT customers to live their dreams and break through gender barriers’.
Other blushes included In Woolf’s Words after writer Virginia Woolf, Lift Like Melinda after philanthropist Melinda Gates, and Viva La Frida after Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.
Jewish author Ben M.Freeman tweeted the brand, saying: ‘Naming a shade of blush after Anne Frank, who was a victim of genocide is revolting. Dead Jews are not a marketing opportunity.’
Ben also tweeted publication Time Out Hong Kong, which was promoting the collection.
Since the backlash, WULT has recalled the product and issued an apology as has Time Out.
Journalist Claire Coleman also tweeted: ’WTAF!? I am just STAGGERED that at no point in the creative process did anyone on the Woke Up Like This team, or ANY of the other hundreds of people involved say “ummm guys, this might not be appropriate”.
Others on social media took issue with the wording of the product which referred to Anne as ‘Holocaust diarist’.
One person wrote: ‘SO many things wrong with this. Holocaust diarist? Like she was doing it for a job during that “time”?’
WULT told Metro.co.uk: ‘The miracle of her legacy, ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’, is that even in the face of extreme hardship, isolation, and ultimate tragedy, her seminal expression of hope for the future continues to inspire generations.
They added: ‘We are extremely sorry that paying tribute to her in this way appears to have caused offense and is considered disrespectful.
‘Our intention was quite the reverse, to bring positive energy and shite a little light through unprecedented testing times during the global pandemic.
‘We sincerely apologise for any miscommunication; and “Dream Like Anne” is therefore officially withdrawn from our online store with immediate effect.’
Time Out Hong Kong has since removed the article and issued an apology.
According to the New York Post, Time Out said: ‘We’re sorry for the distress that this piece has caused. We understand and recognize the insensitivities within this article, and that the inclusion of this product came across as disrespectful of Anne Frank and what she represents.’
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/09/20/makeup-brand-slammed-for-naming-liquid-blush-after-anne-frank-13299225/
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