Why your favourite brands will rarely drop that racist influencer

The internet has been hit by earth-shattering ( not really) scandals this past month: Brooke Schofield’s racist tweets & Alix Earle’s ASKFM comments in which the N-word was used. 

Now it’s no surprise that whilst both women received a slight hiss of backlash, nothing much really happened: Brooke posted a Tiktok apologising and Alix released an apology on her Instagram story. Whether those apologies were sincere or not, it’s unlikely that their careers will suffer any significant impacts ; a big statement to make? Perhaps I should have used the word “assume”: I assume that nothing will happen to their careers.

Brands are always incredibly vocal about dropping celebrities or influencers who don’t align with their beliefs: more recently, Adidas & Bella Hadid and of course when Zara Holland, whilst still in the Love Island Villa, was stripped of her Miss GB title.

By now, we would have heard if either Alix or Brooke had lost any brand sponsorships, but the silence tells us everything we need to know.

In marketing, a significant aspect is both appeasing and appealing to your audience. In this case, the majority of brands that publicly support or sponsor Miss Earle and/or Miss Schofield cater to audiences who are predominantly white and/or conform to the current beauty standards of 2024—skinny and stunning.

Both women are undeniably beautiful and certifiably influential, therefore once again it is no surprise that beauty and clothing brands flock to them like ants to a shard of sugar: Brands like White Fox Boutique, Rhode Skin, Rare Beauty, Tarte Cosmetics, and Revolve (among others) have all capitalised on their influence. The target audience for the majority of these brands ( not specifically the ones listed… Please don’t sue me!) are often white women, or women under UK size 14 ( for the Yanks, a US 12).

For these brands, it is of the utmost importance that they continue to appeal to their target audiences and this okay! But when said audiences jump to the defence of influencers like Miss Earle and Miss Schofield, it is no skin off of these brands backs ( or sales) that demographics outside of their target audience are outraged.

If their audience has no problem with racist or fatphobic or xenophobic or… ( the list goes on) tweets or remarks, then why the hell would they drop the influencers that bring them a huge amount of attention and sales? 

Spoiler: They won’t .

This leads to the conversation of having empathy ( or basic human decency) and being able to recognise when something is plainly and simply wrong. 

To those who think that excusing your favourite influencer for something that doesn’t at all affect you, perhaps think about the people who will be affected. Imagine how it feels for someone to see an influencer they relate to—someone they enjoy watching or even spending money on—express hatred toward a race or demographic they identify with.

In regards to the situations of both Alix and Brooke: you especially cannot excuse racism when you are not affected by it. You may roll your eyes and think that it’s an overreaction “ She was only 13; it’s not that bad”

But it is that bad, because minorities aren’t just upset that she said it, they’re upset because they face constant challenges in the world, they are upset because sometimes all you want to do cuddle up in bed and watch your favourite influencer because that is the one of the few escapes that you have from having to think about the noise of the outside world. Except now, that escape is tainted by the knowledge that this influencer once thought it was okay to use the N-word or express racist views.

We all make mistakes; a phrase that is always used in those Notes app apologies that we are all too familiar with, but it is true. Using the N-word when you were 13 can be a mistake and we can all recognise this, but at the end of the day, unless it affects you, it’s not your mistake to excuse nor is it your apology to accept. 

We now apparently live in a world where a large majority of the influencers and creators that shoot to fame have some sort of murky past. As viewers,  we are complicit if we allow them to think it is okay to just drop a little apology on Instagram and then resume their usual Tiktok schedule or for the brands that support them to remain silent. 

So, the next time you rush to their comments to type “Girl, it’s okay, we still support you!” or “They could never make me hate you!” think about whether you’re really part of that “we” and who exactly you’re referring to when you say “they.”