Beauty vlogger Chloe Morello condemned for wearing hijab in controversial makeup tutorial

30 June 2016
By Fashion Quarterly

Beauty vlogger, Chloe Morello has nearly 1.8 million subscribers on YouTube so it’s safe to say she’s pretty popular. The Australian guru has fans from all over the globe, but this time not all of them are happy with her annual Eid makeup tutorial.

In an attempt to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity of her followers, Chloe Morello shared this gorgeous makeup #inspo video for her Muslim subscribers, in light of the upcoming Islamic holiday, Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of the month of Ramadan.

The soft, glam eye tutorial with an array of cool-toned greys begins with Morello’s demonstration and finishes with her modelling the final look while wearing a hijab; a feature not all viewers are happy about.

“I don’t want to offend anyone when I do this… it’s just so that the hijabis know what it will look like with one on,” she states in the video, before putting the hijab on.

Some have applauded her for her diversity, saying:

“You are the only non-Muslim beauty blogger who does this for us Muslim girls. I love you for this”

“Ahhhhh I love that you’re doing eid tutorials! So thoughtful. I really don’t think it was offensive, quite the contrary.”

“I love this! Your makeup is gorgeous and I’m very glad to finally find a YouTuber that does Eid tutorials!”

“I really appreciate your recognition for our celebrations. Love your hijab style too. Always on point!”

Although not everyone was so impressed, with some commenting:

“I would never wear a hijab …that’s like wearing a kippah as a decoration….you can’t try on a religion. It’s either your lifestyle or it’s not…any other form of wearing it is disrespectful to other cultures and religions.”

“It’s lovely of you to do a makeup look for eid, as clearly your demographic includes Muslim women who love your looks. However, wearing a hijab for the purpose of the video is wrong. For you it’s easy to wear it like a costume, for the purpose of a tutorial, while actual Muslim women wear it with the risk of being harassed or attacked.”

Chloe responded to the backlash by taking to Snapchat to clear the air and explain her controversial decision:

“It’s always very interesting reading the comments on my Eid tutorials because at the end of the video I put a hijab on just to show you how the makeup will look. I’m an atheist… I’m not trying to promote any religion here I’m just trying to promote acceptance.”

“It makes as much sense as it does to do a Christmas tutorial to do an Eid tutorial. It’s really not a big deal. People are making a big deal out of a video that’s nice to be appreciative but it should be normal… as in it should be normal for Islamic women to feel a part of society,” she continued.

Whether you think she’s right or wrong for her choice to wear the hijab, the fact that she’s striving for cultural diversity is something to be celebrated.

RELATED VIDEO: Chloe Morello reveals her secret makeup trick

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