Posted on April 30, 2018

Halsey Says Hotels Provide Shampoos That ‘Alienate People of Color’

Lucy Yang, Insider, April 27, 2018

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On Thursday, Halsey took to Twitter to express her frustrations with the “hotel toiletry industry.” In a series of tweets, the 23-year-old singer, whose father is black and mother is white, argued that the free shampoos hotels provide “entirely [alienate] people of color.”

“I can’t use this perfumed watered down white people shampoo,” Halsey said. “Neither can 50% of [your] customers. Annoying.”

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Halsey later acknowledged the debate over her tweets but said she was “not sorry” for raising the issue. “Who knew me acknowledging that white hair care products are the national standard (while POC are confined to a tiny aisle) would piss so many people off?” she tweeted.

The singer also responded to people who had asked her why she doesn’t just bring her own shampoos when she stays in hotels. “I’m fortunate enough to be financially in a position to do so,” Halsey said, “but POC traveling frequently for work/medical reasons might not be.”

{snip} The singer said that the “mass production” of such products as the “standard” in society “is part of a greater problem of disenfranchisement.”

“If white [people] can enjoy the luxury/convenience, there should be an option for everyone to,” she tweeted. “It’s an ‘insignificant’ example of a bigger problem. That’s all!”

This isn’t the first time Halsey has opened up about race issues. The singer has also spoken out about what it’s like being a “white-passing” black woman, and how she self-identifies.

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