Ulta Beauty Apologizes For Insensitive Email Asking To ‘Hang With Kate Spade’
Photo 171361784 © Dmitry Akhmetov | Dreamstime.com
An ill choice of words was to the downfall of beauty retailer Ulta Beauty, which on Sunday sent out an email to customers with the header “Come hang with Kate Spade.”
The email was accompanied by a heart emoji and promoted the Kate Spade brand’s Sparkle fragrance.
The American fashion designer was found dead in her Park Avenue apartment on June 5, 2018. Spade’s death was ruled a suicide by hanging.
Considering that there are more common phrases than “come hang,” recipients of the marketing email construed the message as a hint at Spade’s unfortunate death.
I cannot believe I got this email today. Is this some kind of sick joke? How insensitive and absolutely tone deaf. Apparently nobody in marketing at Ulta remembers how Kate Spade died. Disgusting. @ultabeauty #suicideawareness #stopthestigma #katespade pic.twitter.com/L7jsqQcoWc
— Tracy Vinton (@tracy_vinton) May 2, 2022
Souring things was the fact that the email was issued on May 1, the first day of Mental Health Awareness Month. Shoppers argued that Ulta couldn’t have picked a worse time to publish this copy.
Whoever wrote the incredibly crass email headline at Ulta for the Kate Spade event yesterday also managed to do it on the first day of Mental Health Awareness Month. An ignominious start by demonstrating the carelessness people tend to have around this topic.
— Official Tyler Seguin Nipple Bully (@9thgradecommie) May 2, 2022
After a barrage of criticism, Ulta Beauty followed up with an apology email and expressed remorse for the “very insensitive” wording. It stressed that the message was “truly an error with no intent to do harm.”
“We’re keenly aware that May is Mental Health Awareness Month,” Ulta continued. “Mental health is a very serious and important issue in this country, and not something we would ever take lightly. We are working internally to ensure something like this never happens again.”
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The company concluded its message by extending an apology to the Kate Spade brand, which Ulta Beauty said it has “the utmost respect for.” It also acknowledged “the joy [the Kate Spade brand] brings to the beauty and fashion industries.”
According to Ad Age, an Ulta Beauty spokesperson said the company will commemorate Mental Health Awareness Month by conducting internal mental health sessions with employees, something it routinely does every year.
If you or anyone you know is dealing with thoughts of suicide, please remember that help is always available. Affected individuals in the US can text “HOME” to 741741 or reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 to talk to an expert. For international helplines and resources, please visit here.
Ulta sending a promo email saying "come hang with Kate spade" and then sending an apology email for being insensitive because she hung herself in 2018 I'm…………. pic.twitter.com/8x74qz5lSv
— Michael Cera on a Friday (@Saadaification) May 2, 2022
