Beauty influencer Zithobe Macheli. Picture: Instagram/zithobemacheli
Popular beauty influencer Zithobe Macheli recently came out in support of Palestine by sharing that she will no longer be working with brands that are donating their profits to Israel.
In an Instagram reel captioned: “Here is how you can support Palestine as a beauty consumer and a beauty influencer,” she shared that she turned down two brand deals worth R50,000 because she stands with the people of Palestine.
“We are currently witnessing a genocide. More than 10,000 have been killed in the past 31 days in Palestine and these are innocent people that are being wiped off the surface of the earth in the most gruesome and painful way,” she said in her reel.
“Recently, a list of beauty brands that are allegedly associated with Israel and ones that are using their profits to fund the genocide have been outed. And on this list are a lot of brands that I love. Brands that I’ve worked with in the past and brands that I’m currently in negotiations with.”
She continued by saying that her past association with those brands are not a reflection of her dignity and integrity as a human.
The reason why she turned down the brand deals is because she doesn't condone the killing of innocent people and as someone who works in the beauty space, she understands the influence she has when it comes to eliciting brand interest in people and affecting their buying habits.
“I’m making this video to plead with beauty consumers and creators to boycott these brands.”
She added that she understands that for content creators it can be tricky because they are often legally bound with brands.
However, Macheli continued to plead with them to “stand on the right side of history” and boycott the brands.
At the end of the reel, she shared a list of brands that allegedly support Israel.
These beauty brands include Revlon, L’Oreal, NYX, Maybelline, The Body Shop and Chanel.