Photo from Sondos Al Qattan Instagram
MANILA - Global cosmetic giants have severed ties with a Kuwaiti social media celebrity who ranted against giving rest days to Filipino domestic helpers in the Gulf state as calls for boycott continue to rage online.
MAC, Japanese brand Shiseido, and South Korea's Etude House recently joined other brands like MaxFactor and M. Micallef in condemning the anti-worker outburst of Sondos al Qattan, a make-up artist who has 2.3 million followers on Instagram.
The social media star made headlines after she publicly slammed a new policy in Kuwait that allowed Filipino house helpers to keep their passports and have at least one day off per week.
"We currently do not have any partnerships with her and will no longer be working with her on any brand activities," MAC Cosmetics said in a statement sent to Gulf News.
MAC strives "to align ourselves with partners that share our core values and in no way tolerate excluding anyone," the make-up giant said.
Shiseido and Etude House also distanced themself from the Kuwaiti social media celebrity who refused to apologize for her comments.
"Shiseido understands that it must respect the human rights of all persons as a pre-requisite to conduct business activities for its sustainable growth together with the global society," the brand told United Nations Migration officer Chinky Bacal-Mayencourt.
"Shiseido is not currently working with Sondos. We have no plans to work with her again in the future," the message read.
"As an Asian-origin company we support the uplifting and betterment in living conditions of domestic help in the Middle East," Etude House told Gulf News.
Sondos earlier said that public outcry against her thoughts on domestic worker rights was "unjustified" and did not require an apology.
"All I said was that the employer was entitled to keep the servant's passport, and that many Kuwaitis and Gulf nationals agree with me," she said.