Fenty Beauty is at the centre of a new lawsuit accusing the beauty brand of engaging in intentional discrimination due to the current inaccessibility of its e-commerce site for customers who are visually impaired.
As reported by The Fashion Law, the lawsuit was filed in a state court in Los Angeles by Beatrix Gutierrez. In her complaint, Ms Gutierrez asserts that, due to being legally blind, she requires “screen-reading software to access and read website content using her computer.” The Fenty Beauty website, she says, is “not fully accessible to screen-reading technology used by blind individuals” thus denying visually impaired customers equal access to the site and subjecting them to “a second-class experience.”
Gutierrez claims that by failing to ensure that its website provides equal access for visually-impaired customers, Fenty Beauty’s actions constitute intentional discrimination.
This is not the first suit of this kind that has been filed by Ms Gutierrez, who, in the last six months, has also taken action against LVMH-owned brands Sephora and Brioni, Breitling, Net-a-Porter, Ferrari, Proenza Schouler, Isabel Marant, and Alexander Wang, among others. In the state of California, the Unruh Civil Rights Act (“UCRA”) outlaws discrimination based on, among other things, disability. Under UCRA, all people are “entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever.”
Having made a name for itself as beauty’s most inclusive brand, Fenty will no doubt be keen to make the necessary changes to ensure accessibility for all.
