Topline
Conservative media figures and social media users are targeting Maybelline, the latest in a long line of businesses branded “woke” for progressive marketing, for posting a makeup ad featuring a bearded model and LGBTQ influencer using lipstick, but the company has used men and LGBTQ models in promotional materials for years, first debuting a male-led marketing campaign in 2017.
The brand has long partnered with LGBTQ models and men. (Photo by Manny Carabel/Getty Images)
Key Facts
Blaze TV host Lauren Chen posted a video of Maybelline’s ad featuring Ryan Vita (whose TikTok states their pronouns are he/she/they), a social media star known for makeup and skincare content with 1.2 million followers, applying lipstick.
“Another day, another disturbing make-up ad,” Chen wrote, sparking outrage from her followers and other conservatives who have also shared the video alongside comments slamming the company as “woke” and accusing it of virtue signaling.
But Maybelline has used members of the LGBTQ community and men to market its products for years (including some who are bearded), most notably in 2017, when it enlisted Manny Gutierrez, known for his popular “Manny Mua” YouTube channel with nearly 5 million subscribers, as its first male star of a marketing campaign.
Gutierrez, who led Maybelline’s Big Shot Mascara by Colossal campaign, was one of several male-focused beauty advertising campaigns at the time, Glamour reported, including CoverGirl enlisting influencer James Charles as its first male model in October 2016 and Giorgio Armani launching a Her/Him lipcare line that fall.
Maybelline has also used plenty of other LGBTQ stars in promotional materials, including drag star Trixie Mattel, trans makeup artist Nikkie de Jager (known primarily by her YouTube channel name, NikkieTutorials), as well as trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who has been a primary target of anti-trans backlash this year for numerous brand partnerships—chiefly one with Bud Light that’s led to boycotts of the beer.
Some protests against LGBTQ-inclusive beauty marketing predate even the Bud Light boycott, including Mulvaney’s 2022 partnership with Ulta, which drew online anger and boycotts, to which the company responded: “We believe that beauty has no boundaries, and we want to create an environment where all expressions of beauty are welcome.”
Chief Critics
Paul Golding, leader of the far-right British political party Britain First, also shared the ad, stating Maybelline “learned nothing from the Bud Light/Target” boycotts, which were launched among conservatives online in response to trans-inclusive marketing campaigns. Maybelline’s Twitter and Instagram comment sections were quickly filled with angry comments, with some declaring they would unfollow or boycott the makeup brand. Maybelline previously faced criticism for its partnership with Mulvaney earlier this year: Right-wing pundit Ben Shaprio uploaded a video to his YouTube in April, criticizing the brand partnership and Mulvaney’s transgender identity.
Contra
Some supporters complimented the ad and Vita under Maybelline’s Instagram post. “So beautiful!!! (Inside and outside) We love you @ryanvitabeauty,” one user stated. Another criticized the angry commenters, defending Vita’s use of makeup as artistic expression. Maybelline has also previously declared its support for the LGBTQ community, stating its mission is to “empower all Babellines through accessible, inclusive makeup.”
Key Background
Right-wing backlash to companies that engage in marketing geared toward the LGBTQ community or focused on diversity, equity and inclusion has proliferated this year, gaining steam after angry conservatives began a boycott of Bud Light in April over its brief partnership with Mulvaney. The boycott led to a dip in sales for the beer brand, and Bud Light producer Anheuser-Busch drew anger from both sides of the political spectrum: the right wing for the marketing campaign, and the left wing for allegedly failing to stand behind Mulvaney following criticism. So-called anti-woke backlash intensified during Pride month in June and extended to retailers like Target and Kohl’s for trans-inclusive and Pride month-themed products, along with professional sports leagues like Major League Baseball and Nascar for posting pro-Pride messages and celebrities like Mark Cuban and Garth Brooks for refusing to join in on boycotts.
Tangent
The right-wing backlash for Maybelline’s ad comes on the heels of another viral marketing campaign for the brand. To promote its mascara products, Maybelline added huge fake eyelashes to Tube trains and buses across London. “This marketing is genius,” one viral tweet states.
Further Reading
What Does ‘Woke’ Even Mean? How A Decades-Old Racial Justice Term Became Co-Opted By Politics (Forbes)
Maybelline faces boycott over partnership with Dylan Mulvaney (CBS News)
