Beauty retailer Sephora has said it did not make large donations to President-elect Donald Trump‘s campaign, after viral social media posts called for a boycott of the company and other popular retail outlets over alleged donations.
In a statement, a spokesman for Sephora told CBS News it was aware of “incorrect information circulating on social media,” and said Sephora “does not make corporate donations to political candidates. Sephora’s mission is to create a welcoming beauty shopping experience for all.”
Calls for a boycott grew after viral social media posts, including one TikTok video with over 11 million views, alleging Sephora and other retailers donated to Trump. The video ended with the line, “I hope we all understand the assignment for this Christmas season.”
The individual who posted the video did not respond to a request for comment.
Laws governing company donations
The Federal Election Campaign Act prohibits corporations from using general funds from making direct contributions to candidates in federal elections.
However, corporations may set up political action committees (PACs) funded by voluntary employee contributions. Or companies can make unlimited contributions to Super PACs which indirectly support candidates through advertising and advocacy.
Executives and other corporate employees may contribute as individuals to candidates, and information about donations once a donor contributes more than $200 are publicly available, according to Brendan Glavin, Deputy Research Director of Open Secrets, a campaign finance watchdog group.
“When you see those boycott lists, what you may be seeing is an aggregation of all the money that employees of the organization gave to the candidate,” said Glavin.
Campaign finance records indicate that individuals associated with Sephora’s parent company LVMH, a France-based company with American divisions, donated $318 to Trump’s campaign during the 2024 election cycle, according to Open Secrets. By comparison, they donated a total of over $35,000 to Harris’ campaign. Foreign nationals are barred from contributing to federal elections, and only LVMH employees who are U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents can legally donate.
Open Secrets analysis also shows LVMH did not contribute to any campaigns through PACs in 2024. The U.S. subsidiaries of foreign-based companies can legally form PACs funded by American employees or direct contributions to Super PACs as long as no foreign nationals direct the contribution.
Sephora’s Americas divisions’ former chief executive, Jean-Andre Rougeot, donated exclusively to Democratic campaigns, FEC records show, and its current CEO, who took her position in April 2024, has not made political donations.
Home Depot, Kohl’s and other companies deny donations
Other companies, including Kohl’s and Home Depot, also refuted social media claims of Trump campaign contributions after calls for boycotts.
A spokesman for Kohl’s told CBS News, “Kohl’s does not make monetary contributions to political candidates or campaigns, does not support political organizations, and does not have a company-sponsored Political Action Committee.”
FEC records show no political donations from Kohl’s CEO Tom Kingsbury this cycle. And overall, employees and individuals associated with Kohl’s contributed more to Harris’ presidential campaign than to Trump’s, records indicate.
A spokesman for Home Depot told CBS News, “The Home Depot (and The Home Depot Foundation) does not give money to presidential campaigns or endorse presidential candidates.”
According to FEC filings and analysis by Open Secrets, the company and its affiliated PAC made no direct donations to Trump’s campaign, However, Home Depot’s corporate PAC donated $270,000 to both the National Republican Senatorial and Congressional Committees.
Overall, employees and associates of Home Depot acting individually gave more to Harris’ campaign than to Trump’s, with Harris receiving $197,312 to Trump’s $115,858, according to Open Secrets.
