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Niasia Boykin, a talent manager at The Brownstone Collective, shared an email she received from swimsuit brand Cupshe, in which a company representative allegedly wrote, "We will not be collaborating with Black people on this campaign.".
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Boykin criticized the brand in a post on the Threads website, writing, "This is racial discrimination.".
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She later shared an alleged email she received from the brand, in which a company representative wrote that the person who sent her the original email "no longer works for the company.".
An influencer manager has spoken out after the brand Cupshe allegedly told her it would not partner with people of color in an advertising campaign.
On June 4, Niasia Boykin, a talent manager at influencer management agency The Brownstone Collective, posted several emails on Threads that she said she exchanged with representatives of swimwear brand Cupshe.
In one of the alleged emails, a screenshot of which Boykin included in her post, a brand representative wrote to her: "We will not be collaborating with Black people in this campaign.".
In a statement sent to PEOPLE, a Cupshe representative confirmed that the brand is "aware of the situation" and "has taken steps to address it.".
«"Our team was concerned that these incidents occurred. The employee responsible had only been with the company for four days and was immediately terminated. These comments in no way reflect Cupshe's practices or how we interact with content creators and partners, both internally and externally. We deeply regret the harm and disappointment this incident has caused," the statement reads.
«"As a company that works with a diverse group of content creators, we are deeply upset by this incident and the way it has tarnished our reputation," the spokesperson continues. "We are conducting a thorough internal review and are committed to improving our hiring, training, and oversight processes to ensure this doesn't happen again and that every member of the Cupshe team shares our core values and priorities.".
PEOPLE reached out to Boykin for comment.
In her post, Boykin explained that she introduced the brand on behalf of several content creators she represents.
Photograph of women in bikinis (Source: Getty)
«"This is racial discrimination," Boykin wrote. "It's illegal. And in influencer marketing, it happens more often than anyone wants to admit, usually just more quietly than in this case. I'm saving the receipts.".
In a subsequent post, she explained that she and the person who allegedly sent her the email had "been in touch over several messages" and had exchanged brief details before she received this latest message.
A few hours later, Boykin shared another update with Threads, attaching another email from the brand.
«"We are shocked and appalled to receive this email," a company spokesperson allegedly wrote. "The message you received does not reflect Cupshe, our values, or how we collaborate with our content creators. We value our relationships with creators and sincerely apologize for this incident and any harm or disappointment caused. As a result, the employee responsible for this is no longer with the company.".
The email also stated that the company "has immediately taken internal action and is reviewing its processes to ensure future compliance." Judging by the attached screenshot, the email was unsigned.
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In her Threads post, Boykin expressed dissatisfaction with the company's supposed response, writing, "What kind of apology is this if no one named it?"«
Read the original article on People.