Luxury cosmetic and perfumery brand Jo Malone London has distanced itself from founder and namesake Jo Malone over her son’s involvement in the pro-Palestine organisation at Harvard University.  

Malone’s son Josh Willcox, 22, is an organiser for the Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee of Harvard (PSC), the group behind the now notorious anti-Israel letter posted last Saturday by students at the university. 

The letter, cosigned by 33 student groups on campus, condemned Israel for the violent attacks by Hamas last week. “The apartheid regime is the only one to blame. Israeli violence has structured every aspect of Palestinian existence for 75 years,” the statement said.  

The letter from PSC sparked waves of backlash from the Harvard community and beyond for neglecting to denounce Hamas’ violence against Israeli civilians. When social media users discovered Willcox’s participation in PSC via Harvard’s online directory of student organisations, many called for the boycott of the Jo Malone brand.  

Jo Malone London, which was sold to Estee Lauder in 1999, posted a statement to its X/Twitter account on Friday that sought to distance the brand from its namesake: “This is an extremely difficult time for everyone and please know we do not condone violence of any kind. At this time, we would like to clarify that Jo Malone the individual has not been affiliated with the Jo Malone London brand since 2006. We continue to lead with kindness.” 

Malone refused to comment on her son’s role in writing PSC’s letter, but shared a message with The Telegraph which said, “We as a family... strongly condemn all forms of violence”. 

“The abhorrent attack on innocent people on Saturday in Israel is beyond what any family should endure,” she added. 

Last week, Harvard students whose organisations signed the letter by PSC were doxxed, their names and photos released to the public without their consent. The university’s Hillel criticised this action in a statement posted on its website: “We will continue to reject the PSC’s statement in the strongest terms — and demand accountability for those who signed it.

"But under no circumstances should that accountability extend to public intimidation of individuals."