Huda Mustafa livestream controversy: Huda Beauty cuts ties with Love Island star, Bella Hadid unfollows

Love Island USA Season 7 contestant Huda Mustafa has landed in trouble after her response to a racial slur aimed at fellow cast member Olandria Carthen during a recent livestream. The incident quickly drew criticism online and though Mustafa has apologised, the incident resulting in Huda Beauty severing its association with her.

Huda Beauty announced it would be ending its collaboration with Huda Mustafa

"We are truly disappointed by Huda Mustafa's recent live and we take all forms of racism very seriously," the popular beauty company said in a statement posted to Instagram. "While we don't believe her actions reflect her character, we found them deeply upsetting."

It continued: "We know that many members of our community and team were hurt and offended by these actions."

Earlier this week, during an Instagram Live with her boyfriend Louis Russell known from Netflix’s Perfect Match, a viewer called in and used a racial slur directed at Carthen, who is of African-American descent. According to the clip obtained, the pair looked momentarily shocked before laughing and ending the call. In the footage, Russell can be heard saying, “Whoa, hey, hey.”

Their reaction drew outrage online, and several people accused the pair of not taking the situation seriously enough.

Mustafa later addressed the backlash on her Instagram Stories, insisting that neither she nor Russell initially understood what was said.

She wrote, "I don’t condone anything of the sort." Mustafa also issued a longer statement where she apologised directly to Carthen.

“I want to begin by saying I completely respect Olandria and it’s extremely disheartening that anyone, especially a presumed child, would find it excusable to use this type of language, and doing so only underlines the ignorance of the gravity that such a word carries,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories.

“Olandria — it is now clear that this comment was targeted at you, and I apologize for my immediate reaction,” she continued. “My reaction in that moment came from being off guard, not from finding the word or the situation funny. It was a nervous, uncomfortable reaction that I recognise was inappropriate.”

“I want to be clear that I do not condone or tolerate anyone who uses such language and I strongly encourage the individual responsible to reflect deeply on their words and the harm they’ve caused,” she added.

Carthen responded in her Instagram Story and called the use of the slur "unacceptable."

"Words like that carry generations of pain, and pretending otherwise only keeps the cycle going," Carthen remarked. "Defending it, laughing about it, or making excuses is even worse. I will not let this moment derail my purpose of uplifting my community. I'm standing firm in who I am and using this as an opportunity to call for real accountability and awareness."

Huda Beauty did not just end its partnership with Mustafa but also removed all related content from its social media platforms.

The company continued, "Accountability is incredibly important in moments like this, and we hope that meaningful change can come from it."

After the controversy, supermodel Bella Hadid unfollowed Huda Mustafa on Instagram; incidentally Hadid had begun following Mustafa just two weeks ago. Fans believe that the unfollow was a show of support for Huda Beauty founder Huda Kattan, who's a close friends with Bella Hadid.

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