Ulta Beauty created some controversy when they hosted a podcast between Dylan Mulvaney and David Lopez. Mulvaney and Lopez are biological males, but the title of the podcast was “The Beauty of Girlhood.” Customers are threatening a boycott on the grounds of “appropriating women.”
Lopez is known for his work as a hairstylist while “degendernizing the beauty space,” his Twitter bio writes. Mulvaney is known for making TikToks documenting his “journey to girlhood.” His videos mostly consist of “him prancing around while doing an exaggerated over-the-top impression of femininity” according to Matt Walsh.
In the clip Ulta posted on Twitter, Mulvaney said “I want to be a mother one day and I absolutely can.”
Allie Beth Stuckey replied to this comment on Twitter.
Matt Walsh chimed in as well,
“A mom one day he says? That’s all it takes you know, put on some lipstick and stick a red bow in your hair and suddenly the rules of biology no longer obtain,” Walsh said, “You could be a mom. Or so he thinks.”
Beauty influencer and founder of Elevate Beauty, Amanda Ensing, spoke out about the campaign on her Instagram. Ensing has had her own experience with Sephora cutting ties with her due to her political viewpoints.
“Women are about their minds and their soul. We are so much more than a costume. But society now has labeled womanhood as a feeling and a costume,” Ensing said.
Another member of the beauty community, Hope Harvard, founder of Hope Beauty, also made a statement on her Instagram story ending with the words, “These MEN do not need lipstick. They need Jesus.”
Ulta responded to the backlash in a two part Twitter statement writing, “We believe beauty is for everyone.”
This is not the first time Ulta has defended the LGBTQ community. In 2018, they fired an employee for an “inappropriate comment” she made in her appearance on Shane Dawson video.