Huda Beauty Faces Online Boycott: Here’s Why Iranians Are Calling It Out

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A boycott campaign on social media against international beauty brand Huda Beauty has quickly gone viral, especially among Iranians and those who support the Iranian protest movement, due to a controversial video posted by the founder of Huda Beauty, Huda Kattan, which was perceived as promoting the narrative of the Iranian government.

The Post That Sparked Outrage

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On January 28, 2026, Huda Kattan, who founded her beauty company and grew it into one of the most influential indie beauty brands in the world, posted an Instagram story that was a repost from TRT World, which featured a demonstration in Iran. The video showed people burning pictures of leaders, including Reza Pahlavi (an opposition figure) and political leaders who are linked to foreign governments.

This happened amid ongoing nationwide protests in Iran that began in late 2025 in response to economic hardship, political repression and harsh crackdowns on demonstrators. According to human-rights organisations monitoring the unrest, the protests have been met with lethal force by Iranian security forces.

Rather than expressing solidarity with protesters, many Iranians interpreted Kattan's repost as echoing pro-regime messaging, a perception that deeply hurt followers, especially given her previous global influence and sizable Middle Eastern fanbase.

From Disapproval to Boycott

Hours after the posting, the call for a boycott began on social media platforms, especially among Iranians and Iranian communities abroad, using hashtags such as #BoycottHudaBeauty. Videos emerged of people disposing of Huda Beauty products, encouraging others to unfollow the brand and urging global retailers like Sephora to remove Huda Beauty products from their shelves.

Some of the postings involved creative content, such as the use of AI images of Huda Beauty products immersed in blood.

Calls for Accountability

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Critics argued that Huda Kattan's action was careless at best and harmful at worst. Many highlighted that:

• She had not publicly shown support for Iranian protesters or condemned the violent crackdown even as news and footage circulated globally.
• The sharing of content from a broadcaster that some considered to have a state-aligned narrative at a sensitive time normalised an image that critics of imagery believed was anti-protester.
• The removal of the original posting and the release of a limited clarification did not help to stem the criticism, as the outrage had already begun to build.

This is part of a larger conversation about influencer accountability, particularly when social media influencers with tens of millions of followers weigh in on or share political content without proper context or regard for ongoing human rights crises.

The Broader Impact

Although the boycott began among Iranians on social media, it has had an international appeal, drawing on the broader conversations about social responsibility and the role of global brands in relation to geopolitical events.

At the time of writing, neither Huda Kattan nor Huda Beauty has issued a full statement on the post and how they intend to address the calls for a boycott, leaving the issue of brand reputation and social responsibility very much in the spotlight.