L’Oreal Model Steps Down Over Anti-Israel Tweets

Muslim model Amena Khan stepped down from a L’Oreal campaign after it emerged that she had posted anti-Israel messages on social media. Image by Amena Khan / Instagram
The first model to appear in a haircare ad while wearing a hijab announced on Monday that she was withdrawing from L’Oreal’s ad campaign after she received criticism for a series of anti-Israel statements she made on Twitter.
“I deeply regret the content of the tweets I made in 2014, and sincerely apologize for the upset and hurt that they have caused,” Amena Khan wrote on her social media platforms. “Championing diversity is one of my passions, I don’t discriminate against anyone. I have chosen to delete them as they do not represent the message of harmony that I stand for.”
Some of the tweets, which were sent during the 2014 war between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas, called Israel an “illegal state,” claimed the country is full of “child murderers” and accused the country of “Torture. Murder. Rape. Genocide.”
“I recently took part in a campaign, which excited me because it celebrated inclusivity,” she added. “With deep regret, I’ve decided to step down from this campaign because the current conversations surrounding it detract from the positive and inclusive sentiment that it set out to deliver.”
“L’Oreal Paris is committed to tolerance and respect towards all people. We agree with her decision to step down from the campaign,” the cosmetics company told the BBC.
The L’Oreal affair came days after cosmetics competitor Revlon found itself in a similar controversy, as Palestinian-American activist Amani al-Khatahtbeh turned down an award from the company because of its ties to Israeli actress Gal Gadot. A survey of al-Khatahtbeh’s history found that she had released a video claiming that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were an inside job, and had published articles criticizing the Jewish campus group Hillel for its “Jewish nature” and approvingly citing anti-Semitic white supremacists.
Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
-
Opinion Gaza and Trump have left the Jewish community at war with itself — and me with a bad case of alienation
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.