The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2017–2020
L'Oréal fired its first transgender model Munroe Bergdorf within six days
Hired for a foundation campaign in August, dropped over a Facebook post L'Oréal called 'at odds with our values'; three years later it asked her back.
L'Oréal · Munroe Bergdorf (model) · 2017-09
What happened
In August 2017 L'Oréal Paris UK made Munroe Bergdorf the first transgender model to front one of its campaigns — the True Match foundation line. Six days later, on 1 September, the company announced it was ending her contract.
The stated reason was a Facebook post Bergdorf had written about racism and white supremacy. L'Oréal said her comments were 'at odds with our values' and that it had decided 'to end her contract' — a decision made days after the campaign had made her a face of the brand.
The reversal took three years: in June 2020 the company reunited with her, naming her to the L'Oréal Paris UK advisory board — an about-turn that turned the firing itself into a case study of how fast brands hire and fire voices.
Why it happened
- The hire was the risk: making her the first transgender face of the brand put a personal voice under the corporate name, so one post became the campaign's whole story.
- The exit was immediate and absolute: six days after the announcement L'Oréal ended the contract with a single 'at odds with our values' — no pause, no review, no middle ground.
- The reversal showed the cost in both directions: the company that cut her asked her back three years later, and she returned to an advisory seat rather than a campaign.
The lesson
Hiring a person is hiring their voice: the campaign lasted six days, the statement one line, the reversal three years — L'Oréal ended the contract over a Facebook post and later asked her back.
Aftermath
Bergdorf continued her activism after the firing. In June 2020 L'Oréal Paris UK announced her as a member of its advisory board, three years after ending her contract; she accepted. The episode became the standard reference for a brand terminating a model over social-media speech, and for the slow, partial road back.
Sources
- BBC Newsbeat — L'Oréal drops first transgender model Munroe Bergdorf, 1 Sep 2017
- BBC News — Munroe Bergdorf: L'Oréal and model reunite, 9 Jun 2020
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