Sephora did not donate to Donald Trump’s campaign

"Sephora donated BIG to Trump's campaign… Ulta did not. BlackWomen remember this when you're out shopping, especially this holiday season," says a November 10, 2024 Threads post, citing a rival cosmetics company.

A TikTok video posted the same day claimed multiple companies donated to Trump's campaign and included on-screen text that says: "Sephora BIG BIG BIG DONATIONS!!" It received 1.9 million likes and was reposted to X, where it spurred calls for a boycott of the French-owned beauty retailer. 

The claim about Sephora appeared elsewhere on X in posts from women grappling with whether to break up with a favorite brand.

"I love @sephora and I spend thousands of dollars there but after seeing they donated to trump and they're a company who provides services and products for women, it's a smack in the face," one says.

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A screenshot of a TikTok video taken November 14, 2024

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A screenshot of an X post taken November 14, 2024

The claim began circulating online after Trump's decisive victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. 

But the company denied any such contributions, and available documents indicate the claims are false.

"Sephora does not make corporate donations to political candidates," it said in a statement sent to AFP on November 13. The company called the social media claims "incorrect."

The US Federal Election Commission's (FEC) website states that "campaigns may not accept contributions from the treasury funds of corporations, labor organizations or national banks" (archived here).

Corporations can give money to independent groups and political action committees that support or oppose candidates. But Brendan Galvin, the deputy research director for the campaign finance watchdog group Open Secrets, told AFP in a November 14 email that there is "no indication" of this happening with Sephora.

Sephora is owned by French conglomerate LVMH,  which as of November 14, is associated with $78,601 in contributions made in the 2024 election cycle, according to Open Secrets (archived here).

These donations are all individual, defined on the site as "contributions from members, employees or owners of the organizations, and those individuals' immediate family members."

Galvin said: "Donors have to list their employer when giving, and on our site we aggregate that and show the totals by organization."

The Open Secrets figures show that individuals associated with LVMH donated $35,423 to Harris's campaign in 2024, compared to $318 donated to Trump's campaign (archived here). Galvin said there may be additional donations below the disclosure threshold of $200 that would not appear on the site. The total included $616 from LVMH individuals to political action committees.

As for Ulta Beauty, Open Secrets reports nearly equal donations to the two candidates, with $7,973 contributed to Harris and $7,211 to Trump from individuals associated with that company, including employees and owners (archived here).

AFP has fact-checked other boycott calls against companies for purported political donations, and other claims about US politics here.