A Christian lifestyle influencer claims she has been "dropped" as a paid partner by beauty retailer Sephora because of online backlash for openly voicing her political and religious views.
Amanda Ensing shared a video on Instagram on Sunday in which she called out the brand for its "disgusting" treatment.
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"This is a video I never thought I would be having to make but the recent experience I've had with Sephora and what they did to me is not OK and I feel that I want to share my story and my truth and fill everyone in with what has happened", said the 29-year old who boasts 1.4 million followers on Instagram.
The beauty influencer, known for her openly-voiced conservative-leaning views, regularly posts beauty and lifestyle videos.
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However, as she shared a sponsored YouTube video recently, where she listed her favourite skincare products from Sephora, she was stunned to shortly have the beauty care firm reach out to her, demanding she take it down.
Furthermore, she was aghast to discover that Sephora was responding online to those who were criticising the influencer, and "slandering her" for her views.
The online backlash targeting Ensing came after comments she made online about pro-Trump supporters storming the Capitol on 6 January.
Amanda Ensing had gone on Twitter on 7 January to decry, in her opinion, the broadly-voiced hypocritical approach towards riots and protests by Black Lives Matter (BLM) and the protesters who breached the capitol.
The left:
— Amanda Ensing (@AmandaEnsing) January 6, 2021
I hate it here. America is embarrassing. Only we can riot & loot. Defund the police. Just do what the government tells you & don’t ask questions.
The right:
Let’s fight for freedom. We love the USA. Defend the Constitution. We support our Military & Law enforcement 🇺🇸
#BoycottSephora had even begun to trend online after Ensing shared her paid-for Sephora video, with critics of her views posting outraged comments on the brand's social media and questioning its ties with the influencer.
Sephora responded to one user on Instagram, saying:
"We were made aware that Amanda Ensing, an influencer contracted by one of our external vendors' campaigns, recently shared content on social media that is not aligned with Sephora's values around inclusivity. As soon as we were informed, we made the decision to cease all programming with Amanda and will not be engaging her for future partnerships".
The "attack" on her personal views enraged Ensing, who has since fought back, showing a clause in the contract she signed with the makeup brand. According to it, the deal could be terminated only for spreading "hate speech or violence".
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Earlier, the influencer had apparently asked Sephora if her views would be protected.
"I have received hate from people due to my political ideologies for being conservative and also for being a Christian", Ensing claims to have told the company.
The beauty brand responded by informing her that "Sephora and rewardStyle respect differing views and this would only ever be referenced in extreme situations such as violence or hate speech".
Insisting that she is being silenced just because of her conservative views, the influencer said in her video on Instagram:
"I have never done anything that is violent, I am not a violent person. I have never condoned violence and never will. I am first and foremost a Christian. I am secondly American and I am thirdly Latina. I am not racist, I am not homophobic, I am not a white supremacist… I only started being called these things by trolls on the internet after I came out as supporting our president, after I came out talking about my conservative views and my religious views".
Ensing added she has hired a legal team to fight her case and is demanding Sephora pay her for the video she made for them.
In response, Sephora said in a statement, quoted by MailOnline:
"We were recently made aware of concerning behaviour by Ms Ensing on her social platforms. Most recently, she made light of the violence and tragic loss of life at our nation's Capitol last month. For this reason, we made the decision to cease all programming with her indefinitely, including having the video she created through an external vendor, taken down".
Sephora denied claims the company had attempted to "silence" the influencer, adding they had not had any direct contact with Amanda Ensing or her legal team.
