Model Emily Ratajkowski has come in for an angry backlash online after commenting that hair is a 'fundamental part of beauty' and 'femininity'.
Announcing her new role as an ambassador for haircare brand Kerastase via Instagram, the 26-year-old model wrote: "Hair is a fundamental part of beauty, femininity and identity. So excited to announce that I am the new face of @kerastase_official!"
However, not everyone was pleased for the star, with some angry fans accusing her of being insensitive to people who have lost their hair through illness or from chemotherapy treatments.
One wrote: "Some people have hair pulling disorders, cancer, or other reasons why they can't/ don't want to grow their hair. Please be considerate to them. Beauty is skin deep."
Another commented: "You clearly have never had a loved one go through chemo, hair doesn't define beauty and identity."
Someone else wrote: "I lost all my hair to chemotherapy a few years ago. Hair does NOT make you beautiful. This is so narrow minded and disrespectful to people who are and have lost their hair and no choice due to illness."
Just hours after the initial post, and the following backlash, Ratajkowski changed the caption to say: "So excited to announce that I am the new face of @kerastase_official! Welcome good hair days!"
Kerastase issued an apology in response to the back lash. A reply to a comment on its Instagram page read: "Hello, we are deeply sorry about that, we didn't want to cause any harm to anyone with the caption.
"Of course beauty is not defined by your hair, beauty is something more spiritual, beauty is an attitude coming from inside each of us.
"Our new muse, Emily, thinks that her hair is a way to express herself. As she said, 'Everyone is uniquely beautiful in their own way' and we agree. We apologise for the misunderstanding of our previous caption because it seems like we were making a one-way statement, forgetting the rest of the multiple variations of beauty.
"We honestly tell you we're very sorry and thanks for your testimony because through it we are learning everyday."
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: US Entertainment, US