Sephora Closes Stores For Training After Singer SZA Says She Was Racially Profiled In Calabasas
CALABASAS (CBSLA) — Cosmetics retailer Sephora says it will close all its stores across the country Wednesday for diversity training after singer SZA says she was racially profiled at the Calabasas location.
The store closure was announced just over a month after SZA tweeted that a Sephora employee in Calabasas called security to make sure she wasn't stealing.
"We had a long talk. U have a blessed day Sandy," SZA's tweet said.
Lmao Sandy Sephora location 614 Calabasas called security to make sure I wasn't stealing . We had a long talk. U have a blessed day Sandy
— SZA (@sza) May 1, 2019
Sephora tweeted an apology to the singer and said they were taking the complaint seriously.
Hi, SZA. We're sorry to hear about your experience at our Calabasas store and appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We want to let you know we take complaints like this very seriously and are actively working with our teams to address the situation immediately.
— Sephora (@Sephora) May 1, 2019
The cosmetics company says 16,000 employees will take part in workshops to help them understand its values.
Sephora's decision to close its stores for diversity training follows in the footsteps of coffee giant Starbucks, which closed its stores last year for anti-bias training after an employee called the police on two black men having a business meeting.