closeicon
USA

Lush cosmetics investigating New York employees who told Jews to ‘f*** off’

Cosmetics shop probes sales assistant who told Jew to ‘kiss my ass’

articlemain

Lush Cosmetics is investigating an incident which appeared to show employees of the New York branch of the soap shop threatening Jewish New Yorkers to “f*** off” and "kiss my ass".

Lush Cosmetics is investigating an incident which appeared to show employees of a New York branch of the soap shop telling Jewish New Yorkers to “f*** off”.

During a march of New Yorkers against antisemitism, several employees of the cosmetics shop exited the store and started shouting at Jewish passersby. Three Lush assistants stood outside the shop and at least two of them shouted at Jews on the street. Several others appeared to gather inside the store.

In a video of the incident shared to X on Tuesday, one apparent sales assistant can be seen yelling: “You f***ing b*tch, you’re a b*tch”, before leaning over and showing her behind to a Jewish man, threatening him “Kiss my ass” and flipping her middle finger.

Several other staff used hand motions to signal to passersby to leave the vicinity of the shop. “Get away,” another employee shouted towards the crowd.

A spokesperson for Lush told the JC they were taking the incident “seriously” and would be reviewing CCTV footage from the area.

"We are taking this situation seriously and are investigating it fully, including a review of camera footage from the area. Lush does not condone aggressive or threatening behaviour of any kind,” Lush Cosmetics said.

Days after October 7, a Lush store in Ireland attracted controversy for encouraging shoppers to boycott Israel. A picture of the Dublin branch of Lush was posted on social media with a prominent sign in its front window reading “Boycott Israel.”

At the time, a spokesperson for Lush said: "It was an isolated occurrence that does not represent the Lush ethos that ‘All Are Welcome. Always.’ and was swiftly removed.

“Lush deplores all acts of violence and our wish is for peace and safety for all Israeli and Palestinian people. We support the upholding of international law and the human rights of all peoples.”

The company has a history of advocating for the Palestinian cause, and sparked controversy in 2011 when they promoted a pro-Palestinian song saying: “The catastrophe facing the Palestinian people is one of the defining global justice issues of our time."

Share via

Want more from the JC?

To continue reading, we just need a few details...

Want more from
the JC?

To continue reading, we just
need a few details...

Get the best news and views from across the Jewish world Get subscriber-only offers from our partners Subscribe to get access to our e-paper and archive