The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Marketing decision · 2024
Colourette dropped its ambassador after a face-shaming post about SB19's Stell
Ambassador Stella Salle mocked a boy-band star's looks online; within days founder Nina Ellaine announced the brand 'is disengaging from Stella.'
Colourette Cosmetics · 2024-05-25
What happened
In late May 2024, Stella Salle — a TikTok creator and ambassador for Philippine makeup brand Colourette Cosmetics — faced a wave of backlash after a post about SB19 member Stell that fans read as mocking his appearance. The outcry reached founder Nina Ellaine, who had built Colourette around self-love and empowerment, and had spoken publicly about facing scrutiny over her own looks.
On May 25, 2024, Ellaine announced the end of the ambassadorship: 'Having faced public scrutiny for my appearance, I have always championed self-love and empowerment. Due to recent events with one of our ambassadors, Colourette takes a firm stand against bullying and shaming, and we are disengaging from Stella.' Salle later posted an apology on her own account.
For Colourette the episode was resolved in a single founder statement, days after the backlash began — no campaign kept running behind a face the brand had just publicly disowned. The case shows how a creator's own platform is part of a brand's risk surface: the same feed that made Salle famous could also end the deal.
Why it happened
- A brand built on self-love cannot keep an ambassador accused of the opposite — the contradiction would have become the brand's story
- A founder-led statement gave Colourette one clean public moment: the disengagement was announced in the brand's own words before the backlash could write them
- TikTok-native ambassadors carry the volatility of their platform — a post on a personal account triggered the termination within days
The lesson
An ambassador's personal feed is part of the brand's risk surface — when the person's own content contradicts the brand's values, the exit must be public, fast, and phrased by the brand
Sources
- Inquirer POP — Makeup brand removes TikTok influencer after backlash from 'face shaming' SB19's Stell
- Milyonaryo — Colourette Cosmetics drops ambassador after offensive remarks against SB19's Stell
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