United Airlines-Inspired Makeup 'Tutorial' Gets Major Backlash

Diana Bruk
Updated
Photo credit: YouTube
Photo credit: YouTube

From Cosmopolitan

On Tuesday, makeup vlogger Mykie, who runs a makeup tutorial channel called Glam & Gore, posted a video that drew Twitter backlash. In the video, titled "Re-Accommodated Makeup Tutorial - Inspired by United Airlines," Mykie appears to offer a primer on how to achieve the bloodied, bruised-up appearance of the doctor who was violently dragged off United Airlines flight 3411 on Sunday night.

The video is interspersed with footage of the forced removal of the passenger and it shows Mykie applying fake blood to her mouth to resemble the appearance of the victim. "I want to give credit where credit is due: this look is inspired by United Airlines," she says in the video. "They have a much faster way of achieving this look."

"I really think United is just being modest right now about their contribution to the gore community, and they don't wanna look too cocky," she says. "But even though they're being modest, the inspiration for this look - this man right here - he's still in the hospital, so I thought that the look would still be relevant today."

Some social media users had a difficult time judging whether or not the video was satire, especially given that the other videos on Mykie's "Glam and Gore" channel feature makeup tutorials like "Shattered Cinderella," "Burnt Belle," "Strangled Rapunzel," and other gory looks.

Others viewed it as a parody but still felt it was in poor taste given the victim's brutal assault.

Mykie said that "the vast majority seem to perfectly understand that this is satire against United, and the only outrage I'm seeing is from a relatively small number of people unfamiliar with my channel on Twitter - this isn't at all my first parody," though she declined to offer examples of similar parodies she's filmed in the past.

She also issued the following statement:

My intention of the video was to use satire to criticize and show the horrible treatment of Dr. Dao, and United's poor handling of their statements thereafter. I think of satire as the use of irony, or sarcasm as a means to criticize, shame, or highlight the absurdity of an event, individual, or company in the hopes that they would improve in the future. Some may have other definitions of satire and some may not be okay with satire in any sense, but I am in no way mocking Dr. Dao, and if anyone felt this way, I apologize as this is absolutely not my intention. All my criticism is toward United. I think the video of him, while hard to watch, is a necessary component to making an effective piece of criticism as people should see exactly what United was capable of in this instance. I am very upset by his treatment, like many others, and I wish him the speediest of recoveries and justice for what's happened to him. I also hope some of my audience have walked away wanting to know more about the situation and will remember the event for years to come, whether through my satirical video or through any other pieces of criticism they come across. For some, remembering that will take satire, for others, it won't. Either way, I think it's extremely important we keep what's happened to Mr. Dao visible, so I appreciate the news outlets and other content creators still reporting on it.

Follow Diana on Twitter.

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