The winner of a Kat Von D beauty contest was allegedly disqualified after social media users found a pro-Trump posting on her social media account.
Former LA Ink reality show star Kat Von D is launching her own makeup line called Kat Von D Beauty. As part of the launch, the company sponsored a national competition called the Saint + Sinner Contest.
Wichita, Kansas, makeup artist Gypsy Freeman apparently won the contest with an image “of an angelic figure beside a girl in an all-black outfit and thick mascara,” the Wichita Eagle reported . The win made Freeman and a guest eligible to fly to Los Angeles for the Kat Von D makeup launch party along with a $500 Sephora gift card.
As alluded to above, on November 8, 2016, Freeman posted a Trump for President, Make America Great Again image on her social media platform.
According to screenshots, contest winner Freeman received a direct message from the Kat Von D Instagram account that reportedly rescinded the prize, explaining that the tattoo artist had drawn a “line in the sand” with President Trump supporters.
“My launch party [and my brand] celebrates many things that Trump is against. And I just need you to know that I personally have a hard time with inviting anyone who would support such an anti-feminist, anti-homosexual/LGBT, anti-immigrant, and anti-climate change fascist such as Trump.”
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Freeman responded on Instagram expressing understanding for the position that Kat Von D was taking, to which the celebrity replied comparing Trump to Hitler and adding that “it’s just extremely difficult (borderline impossible) for me to be friends with or associate with anyone who would support a man who goes against everything I stand for.”
All references to the Saint + Sinner Contest, which was open to anyone in the U.S. age 18 or older, have been scrubbed from the Kat Von D website and Instagram account, suggesting that a makeup cover-up, as it were, could be in play.
Various news media inquiries to Kendo Holdings, the Kat Von D parent company, have as yet met with no response.
This is a developing story, however, so watch this space for updates. In the meantime, the story is gaining traction on Twitter.
Reacting to her apparent disqualification, Gypsy Freeman told the Eagle that what happened was “definitely bigotry – it’s everything that they’re calling us, they’re doing. It’s a huge case of hypocrisy.” Freeman also acknowledged that it is unlikely that she will continue to use Kat Von D makeup products going forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Hh_HYRLiU
Parenthetically, Kat Von D was engaged to Monster Garage star Jesse James in 2011 before the couple broke up up that same year. James, also a Celebrity Apprentice contestant, endorsed Donald Trump for president in January 2016.
Although President Trump has both proponents and detractors of his policy positions, for example, on immigration and climate change, he has apparently made no controversial comments in connection with LGBT issues.
[Featured Image by Abraham Caro Marin/AP Images]