Australian influencer Emma Claiir has apologised after she was dropped by multiple brands following revelations she’d killed two cats as a child.
In a recent episode of her podcast Simply Chaotic Claiir revealed she’d killed her family cat and her friend's cat as a kid.
During the episode, she said: “I killed my cat … My sister did not speak to me for months – months – and my mum was f***ing fuming at me, and yeah, I killed it.”
“And then, if you really want to know more about me, I also killed my best friend’s cat.”
The confession immediately drew ire from fans, causing her to post an explanation to her Instagram story, explaining it was intended to be a “bit of light humour.”
“To the people offended by my story in today’s Simply Chaotic episode that I just shared. It happened 21 years ago. I was a small child. Accidents happen, and you all need to chill,” she wrote.
“I hope that you are not the same person you were at nine years old (I could have been even younger, you know hahah) and I can confirm that after that accident, I have been the mother moth to multiple cats, including my baby Fred.
“It’s a bit of light humour in a get-to-know-us episode, and If you can’t handle that, then simply chaotic ain’t for you. So byeeeee.”
She also asked her followers to “chill”.
“Again, sorry, not sorry for an accident that happened over 20 years ago and sorry, not sorry for having a giggle about it because I think still 20 years on I’m in shock by it.”
However, this response seemed to add more fuel to the flames, with Instagram users saying she’d doubled down, offering a “non-apology”.
Then, yesterday morning, Australian makeup brand MCoBeauty - who Claiir is partnered with - announced they would “no longer be working with Emma in the future.”
“It has come to our attention that Emma Claiir recently relayed a story on her podcast discussing an incident of animal cruelty from her childhood,” MCoBeauty said in a statement on its Instagram story.
“Here at MCoBeauty, we take instances like this extremely seriously and do not condone animal cruelty of any kind.”
Then the influencer issued a second apology to Instagram, time taking a more sincere approach.
“I am well aware that the story was not light humour and, in fact, very serious. It was not intended to come across the way that it did, as it was simply just a story from the past about an accident that was made as a little kid, but I can see how it has come across like that.
She said she’d changed since the incident 21 years ago and wanted people to know that her actions weren’t reflective of who she is now.
“I have taken time to think about my actions and want to confirm that I do have empathy about the situation, and it’s not something I am proud of as it really hurt myself and my family 21 years ago.
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