If you keep an eye on beauty industry news, you’ve probably already seen that Revlon is facing a lawsuit from a former employee, scientist Alan Meyers.
You can read the original article regarding the Revlon lawsuit from the New York Post here.
The situation came onto my radar this evening when Revlon tweeted the following:
Well okay. I bit.
The piece starts off with,
Alan Meyer’s lawsuit is a completely meritless attack by a former employee who is trying to distract from his own failed performance with false, sensational, and offensive allegations…
Whoa, damn. You can read the rest of the statement regarding the Revlon Lawsuit here, if you are so inclined.
Basically, the former employee cites not only mistreatment by the company’s CEO and shady behavior (Meyers was concerned about regulatory things with respect to a Spanish company they acquired; Delpani (CEO) said, “Shh, we want plausible deniability!”) but also alleges flatly racist, anti-American, and anti-Jewish sentiments from the same. Talk about a hostile work environment. The official response to the Revlon lawsuit is rubbing a lot of people, myself included, the wrong way – if you’re already publicly under fire for due to a very touchy matter, it is probably best to proceed with kid gloves. You know, instead of folding your arms, stomping your feet and going, “YEAH, well, that guy sucked at his job and that’s why he’s doing this. SO THERE.”
It is understandable that the brand is on the defensive after such allegations have been made – and granted, no brand is going to come out and say, “Oh yeah, I guess you’re right, our CEO is kind of a racist jerk…” but their published response is acrid and beyond unprofessional. They don’t need to be happy about it, but I can’t imagine that the scathing response issued regarding the Revlon Lawsuit is going to help their case.
What the hell, Revlon, don’t you have a legal and/or PR team? Didn’t they caution you against publishing that? If they didn’t, it isn’t just the CEO’s position who should be in question.
EDIT 11:00PM: Actually, no, it won’t just be a, “refrain until we learn more.” The more I’ve thought about this, the angrier it has made me. Without the statement, it was an ugly situation. With the statement, it is beyond clear that, well, Delpani and his lackeys suck. Most of the board sucks. Their PR and legal teams are fools for not strongly advising against this, and frankly, for not resigning when they went ahead anyway (assuming that’s the case). You know what looks really good on a resume, though? Having, “Revlon PR,” with dates inclusive of this Revlon Lawsuit statement.
I will not buy any more Revlon products until Delpani, at minimum, is ousted from his role. Yes, this includes my beloved Revlon Colorstay Lip Butter in Pink Truffle that I use almost daily, and the two Super Lustrous glosses that are regulars in my rotation.
Here’s the old paragraph from before the edit, before I went into full-anger mode. I was trying to be objective; I can’t.
I will repurchase one tube of Revlon Colorstay Lip Butter in Pink Truffle (ideally on sale & with a coupon) because I don’t have the time or money to waste on finding a new day-to-day, go-to lipcolor right this second (uh, yeah, it was just Christmas). After that, I will refrain from purchasing brands within Revlon’s umbrella until we learn more. I won’t threaten, “NEVER AGAIN,” because the reality is that we don’t have all the details at the moment…but right now I can tell you I’m not impressed with either the situation itself or its public handling.
How do you feel about the Revlon Lawsuit?
