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Benefit UK

Beauty company makes ugly move by participating in fat-shaming hashtag

Brands, stop trying to engage.

 

Jaya Saxena

IRL

Posted on Jul 6, 2015   Updated on May 28, 2021, 10:22 am CDT

One day, brands will learn not to chase trending Twitter hashtags. But today is not that day.

The latest corporate social-media misfire comes from Benefit Cosmetics UK, which is under fire for its crass contribution to the #MakeAMovieAFatty hashtag.

Twitter user Fish Daddy Cupcake started the hashtag to alter the names of movies to relate them to the experience of being overweight or obese. 

https://twitter.com/BertzCarey/status/618131081376563200

After the hashtag took off, Fish Daddy Cupcake tweeted that anyone complaining about it should “lighten up.” His tweet has since been deleted, but a screengrab shows the original text.

Screengrab

Whoever runs the Benefit Cosmetics UK Twitter account evidently thought this was a trend worth jumping on for viral marketing goodness.

https://twitter.com/ArchedEyebrowBR/status/618095300318728192

Benefit seems to have forgotten that people of all sizes use makeup. But instead of apologizing when it was called out, it doubled down. It deleted its original tweet and then insisted in a subsequent tweet that it wasn’t making fun of anyone. After that, it finally apologized.

Benefit’s About Us page says “Laughter in the best cosmetic!” but few people were laughing after the misguided tweets.

https://twitter.com/Valuck/status/618102561699184640

Benefit UK did not respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment.

Photo via Benefit Cosmetics

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*First Published: Jul 6, 2015, 4:51 pm CDT