Rihanna’s new Fenty highlighter dubbed “offensive” by fans
Asian supporters point to another instance where she may have crossed the line with that community
Recently singer Rihanna's successful Fenty Beauty line received major backlash over the launch of its latest highlighter, "Geisha Chic."
Recently, singer Rihanna‘s successful Fenty Beauty line received major backlash over the launch of its latest highlighter, “Geisha Chic.”
On Saturday, Fenty Beauty announced the launch of three new Killawatt highlighters, named ‘Afternoon Snack/Mo’ Hunny,’ ‘Penny 4 u Thots’ and ‘Geisha Chic,’ with the name of the last one being the least-welcomed by fans.
While The Navy praised the 31-year-old bad gal for the latest color, the fans demand for a change in name quickly went into effect.
READ MORE:Â Rihanna hits father with lawsuit, says he stole Fenty brand
Mega makeup Instagram account Trendmood1 posted (then later deleted) “TF [is] this shade name? Being a geisha isnt ‘chic’ it’s not an aesthetic to be worn??? I thought Fenty knew better.”
According to Cosmopolitan, who reportedly caught wind of the post before it was taken down, one commenter went as far back as to reference Rihanna and Coldplay‘s 2012 “Princess of China” video, in an attempt to support claims that this wasn’t the singer’s first targeted offense to the Asian community.
“Yeah speaking on behalf of East Asians: nice colour, but the name? Really? This is a brand that wants to be inclusive, and yet… lol I put faith that RiRi learned from her ‘princess of China’ days but I guess not”.
READ MORE: Do Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty ‘blotting sheets’ double as rolling papers?
Over on Twitter, one Tweeter pointed point that the Fenty highlighter name was exceptionally offensive because it was coming from “marginalized people” to another.
“This is going to come from an emotional place but I’m so tired of seeing racism/stereotyping against asians get glossed over. Especially when it comes from other marginalised people who know what that damage is like, but still participate. It cuts just that much more.”
https://twitter.com/lyjessicat/status/1112083188237492224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1112083188237492224&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cosmopolitan.com%2Fuk%2Fbeauty-hair%2Fcelebrity-hair-makeup%2Fa26997400%2Ffenty-beauty-rihanna-geisha-chic-killawatt-highlighter%2F
READ MORE:Â Collaboration rumors swirl after Rihanna and Jay-Z are seen together
According to Trendmoods1, whose original post aided in the story going viral, Fenty Beauty has since removed the shade from online stores and all retailers.
“Due to the feedback on this post @fentybeauty has decided to completely remove this shade from online and in stores until further notice. We will keep u updated!
We appreciate Fenty Beauty’s responsiveness to this matter and applaud the continuous evolution of this amazing beauty community,” the account announced.
