Urban Decay Come Under Fire For ‘Offensive’ Advert That ‘References Self-Harm’
Urban Decay have come under fire for an advert for their ‘Razor Sharp Eyeliners’, which some people have branded offensive, distasteful and insensitive due to the possible connotations of self-harm.
The promotion photo at the centre of the debate shows a model with swatches of the different coloured eyeliners on her arm, which is pretty normal in the beauty world.
However, it was the caption that caused controversy and attracted criticism, with Urban Decay writing: “Ready for some Razor Sharp swatches.”
With the caption and the photo of the horizontal swatches, some people raised concerns about the message referencing self-harm, tweeting to let Urban Decay know they weren't happy about how the ad could be perceived:
Others argued that the company probably didn't mean it how it was perceived:
Urban Decay have since taken people’s concerns on-board and removed the post, tweeting: “We swatch on the inner arm to show texture & shades. We didn’t intend to reference self-harm as the product is named Razor Sharp Eyeliner.”