Jo Malone perfume brand distances itself from Jo Malone over Israel row

Perfume brand Jo Malone has distanced itself from its founder and namesake, makeup mogul Jo Malone, after her son was caught up in a row over the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Malone, 59, founded the fragrance company in 1990 before selling it to Estee Lauder in 1999. She remained at the brand as its creative director until 2006 before leaving to establish Jo Loves – a separate, London-based venture.

On Friday (13 October), the Jo Malone X/Twitter account shared a statement clarifying “that Jo Malone the individual has not been affiliated with the Jo Malone London brand since 2006”.

This comes after the entrepreneur’s son was linked to a pro-Palestine Harvard student group caught up in controversy over a statement addressing the Israel-Hamas conflict.

On Thursday (12 October), The Telegraph reported that Malone’s son Josh Willcox, 22, helps run the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) – one of the student societies that issued a widely-criticised statement holding Israel “entirely responsible for all unfolding violence” triggered by the devastating Hamas attack on 7 October.

More than 2,600 Israelis and Palestinians have died since the war errupted on Saturday 7 October, when Hamas terrorists stormed Israeli cities, killing hundreds of civilians and escaping with at least 130 hostages.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed vengeance against Hamas “for this wicked day”, ordering retaliatory airstrikes on targets in Gazan cities and a “total siege” – blocking supplies of food, water, and power from entering the 42km Strip.

On the same day, a group of 33 student-run organisations at Harvard released a joint statement declaring that Israel’s “apartheid regime” had created the conditions for the Israel-Hamas war.

“Today’s events did not occur in a vacuum. For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison,” the statement read.

When Willcox’s role at the PSC, listed on Harvard’s online directory of its student groups, was revealed, social media users issued calls to boycott Jo Malone London on X, formerly Twitter.

In response, the luxury brand released its statement, which read: “This is an extremely difficult time for everyone and please know we do not condone violence of any kind. At this time, we would like to clarify that Jo Malone the individual has not been affiliated with the Jo Malone London brand since 2006.

“We continue to lead with kindness.”

Malone in a statement to The Independent said: “We as a family are heartbroken by the events of recent days and strongly condemn all forms of violence. The abhorrent attack on innocent people on Saturday in Israel is beyond what any family should endure. We again strongly condemn all forms of violence and those that incite it. We have always acted with a heart for people wanting always to strive towards a peaceful solution to any conflict.

“This is an horrendous moment in our history where innocent people are paying the greatest price with their lives. It is utterly heartbreaking and must stop. As a family our hearts goes out to all those suffering terrible losses at this time and we send untold gratitude to all those selflessly risking their lives for others.

We call upon all leaders to find a humanitarian resolution for all.”

The backlash to the Harvard letter was severe.

Multiple influential Harvard alums, including US senator, Ted Cruz denounced the statement, writing on X/Twitter: “Given the choice between standing with Israel or supporting terrorists who are raping, kidnapping and killing thousands of women and children…31 student groups choose the terrorists.

“Their blazing hatred and antisemitism [is] utterly blinding.”

Other notable figures who criticised the student groups include former Harvard president and Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, and billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.

Shortly after, Harvard’s president Claudine Gay said that “no student group – not even 30 student groups – speaks for Harvard University or its leadership”, in a statement released on Tuesday (10 October).

“As the events of recent days continue to reverberate, let there be no doubt that I condemn the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas,” she said. “Such inhumanity is abhorrent, whatever one’s individual views of the origins of longstanding conflicts in the region.”

The PSC on social media said it had been “flooded with racist hate speech and death threats” in the days since the controversy erupted, and that it had been forced posptpone a vigil “intended to mourn all innocent lives lost” in view of “credible safety concerns”.

“To state what should be clear: PSC staunchly opposes all violence against all innocent life and laments all human suffering,” a follow-up statement shared on the group’s Instagram read.

On Thursday (12 October), the university’s student-run newspaper The Harvard Crimson reported that a “doxxing” truck had appeared on campus that was digitally displaying the names and faces of students connected with the anti-Israel statement, branding them “Harvard’s Leading Antisemites”.

As of Thursday evening, at least nine of the 33 original signatories had withdrawn their support for the statement.