Sephora closed its doors earlier this week to host “inclusion workshops” after singer SZA was racially profiled at a California location.
The make-up company’s storefronts, distribution centers and corporate offices, briefly shut down Wednesday as staffers completed the training.
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“These values have always been at the heart of Sephora, and we’re excited to welcome everyone when we reopen,” the company announced on Facebook earlier this week.
The post also contained a video with the company making a statement: “Sephora believes in championing all beauty, living with courage, and standing fearlessly together to celebrate our differences. We will never stop building a community where diversity is expected, self-expression is honored, all are welcomed, and you are included.”
The decision to host the companywide training workshops came after SZA revealed on Twitter she had security called on her at a California store by an employee she called “Sandy Sephora,” who suspected her of shoplifting,” PEOPLE reports.
“[Laughing my a— off] Sandy Sephora location 614 Calabasas called security to make sure I wasn’t stealing,” SZA wrote April 30. “We had a long talk. U have a blessed day Sandy.”
She added later: “Can a b— cop her fenty in peace er whut,” referring to Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty makeup line.
The “Drew Barrymore” singer’s message caught Rihanna’s attention, leading her to send SZA a handwritten note and a Fenty Beauty gift card.
“Go buy yo Fenty Beauty in peace sis!” Rihanna wrote at the time.
At the time, Sephora responded to SZA’s complaint via Twitter, thanking her for bringing her awkward situation to their attention.
“We want to let you know we take complaints like this very seriously and are actively working with our teams to address the situation immediately,” the company’s official Twitter account wrote. “You are part of the Sephora family, and we are committed to ensuring every member of our community feels welcome and included at our stores.”
Fans of the singer took to social media at the time to share their experiences with profiling at the stores, which also inspired the company to do the training.
“I don’t buy anything from [Sephora] because of this!” one fan wrote at the time. “They are racist and really all I do when I use (sic) to shop there was walk up to Rihanna’s products only and them [motherf—ers] would have the ugliest mad ass look on their faces!”
“The Sephora employee insinuated I stole when my rewards clearly stated I made a purchase and they couldn’t replace what I bought with what their worker gave me. They seriously need better training,” another one shared.
