Ari Kytsya is a "mattress actress" (her term) who has grown a following by posting sexual acts on the site Only Fans — in other words, she's a pornstar.
But that didn't stop cosmetics giant L'Oréal from hiring her to promote their Urban Decay brand of makeup, which is geared towards teenagers and young adults.
In the video, she says Urban Decay
...calls for ‘uncensored makeup' that performs ‘on stage, on camera, and yes, on mattresses'.
According to The Guardian, L'Oréal broke its own rules in bringing on Kytsya.
The decision to work with Kytsya appears to contravene L'Oréal's own Value Charter, which sets out the ethical standards that must be adhered to by influencers who are partnering with their brands.
The charter says that influencers must share L'Oréal's ethical principles and must not have previously posted pornography and other ‘content which is at odds with our values of respect, tolerance, and inclusion'.
The ad has been viewed almost 19 million times on TikTok so far, and there are a lot of concerns that setting Kytsya up as a version of success, especially for teen girls, might drive more young women into pornography.
So while states and countries around the world are actively trying to steer young people away from pornography with things like age verification, L'Oréal is promoting it as a great lifestyle for teen girls.
Penny East, the CEO of the Fawcett Society, said,
The majority of OnlyFans creators make very little money and the pressure to find a niche is pushing women to make increasingly explicit content.
Ari Kytsya is one of the few success stories. She is a hugely popular and engaging influencer, with a large following across all social media platforms. She also creates highly explicit and pornographic content on OnlyFans. The move to put OnlyFans content creators in high-street commercial makeup campaigns will only serve to make OnlyFans a more enticing prospect for young girls.
On the flip side, there are people on the Left celebrating the move.
Like Olivia Tauber of Popsugar, who writes,
The viral yet polarizing clean girl era is over — it's time for beauty to get a little dirty again, and Urban Decay tapped content creator and OnlyFans star Ari Kytsya to make it happen.
While the controversy is no doubt getting L'Oréal some attention for their makeup line, I have to wonder if it will translate into sales.
Ari Kytsya's typical "followers" probably aren't the makeup-wearing type.
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