Beauty company Hard Candy applies for trademark on ‘Me Too’
Women all over the world came forward to tell their stories, showing how deeply embedded sexual harassment was in our culture. #MeToo became the rallying cry for women who had lived and suffered in silence for so long.
Hard Candy is trying to get a trademark on #MeToo for their beauty products...
Hard Candy is trying to get a trademark on #MeToo for their beauty products.
It’s a shocking move for several reasons, not the least of which being that #MeToo doesn’t belong to them. It was founded by Tarana Burke over a decade ago and rose to prominence again in October when Alyssa Milano tweeted that women should share their stories of sexual assault and harassment using the hashtag.
Women all over the world came forward to tell their stories, showing how deeply embedded sexual harassment was in our culture. #MeToo became the rallying cry for women who had lived and suffered in silence for so long.
A TV series about the #MeToo movement is coming to PBS
The cultural movement gained such notoriety that Time named the “Silence Breakers” as their Person of the Year for 2017. These people were among the many who raised their voices and spoke out about their experiences.
So when a makeup brand tries to capitalize on a movement that doesn’t belong to it, it’s hard not to roll our eyes.
Hard Candy says it’s not trying to make a buck off of the movement
Of course, with accusations flying that the beauty brand is trying to make money off of Tarana Burke’s movement, Hard Candy has spoken out to say that they’re just trying to be part of the movement too.
TMZ first reported the trademark application and also reported that Julian Falic, the CEO of Hard Candy’s parent company, insisted they weren’t trying to make a buck off of #MeToo. Instead, Falic said, their “intention is to give back to women worldwide.”
If they really want to give back, then they should try not to scoop the creator of the movement in the first place.
