TikTok removed a video posted by Huda Kattan, founder of Huda Beauty, in late July 2025. The video made claims about Israel that Jewish organisations described as antisemitic conspiracy theories. TikTok said the video violated its community guidelines.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!What the video said
According to CNN and the BBC, Kattan said in the video that Israel had been behind the First and Second World Wars, the September 11 attacks and the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. The Anti-Defamation League and JLens said the claims repeated antisemitic conspiracy theories. Kattan has not agreed with that description.
Criticism and retailer response
The ADL and the American Jewish Committee criticised the video publicly, and the ADL and JLens called for Kattan to apologise. Calls grew for retailers to drop Huda Beauty. Sephora said it was “actively reviewing” the issue. Puck and the Tribune reported in August 2025 that Sephora had removed Huda Beauty from a planned fall campaign.
Kattan’s response
Kattan said her words were being twisted and described the criticism as a smear campaign. She said she had removed the video herself, while TikTok said it had removed the video. On August 8, 2025, she posted a video of about six and a half minutes that Puck described as a semi-apology.
Editor’s note: an earlier version of this article said the founder had not responded. It also gave TikTok’s reason for the removal as hate speech and misinformation policies, which TikTok did not state. Both points have been corrected.
Sources
- CNN via ABC17, TikTok pulls video of Huda Kattan after beauty mogul spreads conspiracy theories (3 August 2025): https://abc17news.com/news/2025/08/03/tiktok-pulls-video-of-huda-kattan-after-beauty-mogul-spreads-conspiracy-theories/
- ADL, press release on Huda Kattan’s remarks (7 August 2025): https://www.adl.org/resources/press-release/adl-and-jlens-urge-accountability-regarding-huda-kattans-antisemitic
- The National, Huda Kattan alleges smear campaign for condemning Gaza atrocities (11 August 2025): https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/2025/08/11/huda-kattan-alleges-smear-campaign-for-condemning-gaza-atrocities
- Puck, Sephora’s Huda ultimatum (20 August 2025): https://puck.news/sephora-is-cutting-huda-kattans-beauty-brand-from-its-fall-campaign/
- Tribune, Sephora drops Huda Beauty from Experts campaign (25 August 2025): https://tribune.com.pk/story/2563119/sephora-drops-huda-beauty-from-experts-campaign-after-founders-antisemitic-conspiracy-claims