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Huda Kattan, the Iraqi-American founder of makeup brand Huda Beauty, has come forward after Israel-aligned nonprofit groups such as the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and StopAntisemitism demanded Sephora take her products off its shelves. Saying a smear campaign had been launched against her, Kattan explained, “In order to silence you from speaking out, to silence me, they do what they always do. They twist your words, label you an antisemite, and right now, I’m experiencing all of that.”

This follows controversy surrounding a video Kattan posted to TikTok last week, in which she implied that Israel allowed the world wars, the 9/11 attacks in the US and Hamas’ 2023 attacks on Israel to happen as it would benefit them. In separate statements to CNN, Fox News and the BBC, TikTok said it removed the video for violating its community guidelines. Kattan now says she took down the video personally after “[she] saw a lot of people taking what [she] said out of context, and [she] didn’t want that conversation happening”.

The billionaire businesswoman has been a vocal advocate and supporter of the Palestinian struggle and has faced criticism for her stance. She has been recognised by TIME Magazine as one of the 25 most influential people on the internet and her brand was declared the most popular beauty brand in the world for the first quarter of 2025 by Cosmetify.

Talking about claims that she was a Holocaust denier, Kattan said she “learnt about the Holocaust when [she] was in school” and that it “affected [her] so badly that this is why [she] chooses to speak out right now”. She said she “promised [herself] to speak out if this ever happened again,” which is what drives her pro-Palestinian activism.

Sephora released a statement on Thursday saying it “[recognises] that comments from one of [its] brand partners have raised concerns” and that “[it takes] this matter very seriously and can confirm [it is] actively reviewing this issue internally, including working with the brand.”