- Black-owned skincare company Topicals said influencers on its latest brand trip were mistreated.
- The brand said the "Black and Brown" creators were discriminated against and harassed in France.
A Black-owned skincare brand said influencers who traveled to France on a brand trip it organized experienced "racism and Islamophobia." The allegations come as a content creator on the trip said in a TikTok video that staff at a spa turned away Muslim guests because they were wearing modest swimwear.
Topicals said Monday that the incident occurred during a recent brand trip to the French Alps attended by "Black and Brown creators from the UK and US."
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Topicals shared that, at one of the "establishments" on the itinerary, the group of creators "experienced discrimination, harassment, and were threatened to have law enforcement called on." Topicals did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The brand also said that experiencing racism "in this magnitude" was "horrific to say the least" and that it prompted them to take their "business elsewhere — quick, fast, and in a hurry."
This past weekend, we hosted our third brand trip in Megève, France with a group of Black and Brown creators from the UK and US.
— TOPICALS (@topicals) $4
At one of the establishments on our itinerary, we experienced discrimination, harassment, and were threatened to have law enforcement called on us.
"Just as any other group of people, we should be able to enjoy the luxuries of travel and finer experiences without the constant fear of hate," it said in its thread. "As a Black-owned brand, we will not allow this to stop us. We will continue to place Black and Brown creators at the forefront of our branded experiences. Discrimination cannot and will not stop us."
Topicals also said it will donate $10,000 to Muslim and Black organizations in France to bolster "local power and joy within marginalized communities."
At least one influencer on the trip shared their experience online, identifying the establishment.
Ornella Rose Hollela, a content creator known professionally as Nella Rose, shared on Instagram that a group of about 20 influencers, including two Muslim women, visited QC Terme Spa together.
But before they made it to the pool, she said, a staff member approached the two Muslim women, who were dressed in modest swimwear, and said they couldn't enter the area.
Because Rose speaks French, she said, she attempted to discuss the matter with the employee, but he directed her to send them to a gift shop on the property that sells bikinis.
View this post on Instagram>$4