Race Debate Rages After Halsey Tweet About Hotel Shampoo

A singer has sparked a race debate with a complaint about the type of shampoo provided by most hotels. Taking to Twitter, Halsey asserted that the haircare products that hotel chains give to guests are useless for people of color, per the Washington Post. “I’ve been traveling for years now and it’s been so frustrating that the hotel toiletry industry entirely alienates people of color. I can’t use this perfumed watered down white people shampoo. Neither can 50% of ur customers. Annoying,” the Grammy nominee wrote Thursday. The tweet started a heated debate between some commenters who supported the singer and some who did not. One follower asserted that Halsey had the means to buy her own shampoo.

Halsey responded: "I’m fortunate enough to be financially in a position to do so, but POC traveling frequently for work/medical reasons might not be. Just making a point is all!" Many commenters agreed that the added burden of having to travel with appropriate products for different hair types reflects a bigger issue. "Mass production of those products as the standard is part of a greater problem of disenfranchisement," Halsey wrote. "If white ppl can enjoy the luxury/convenience, there should be an option for everyone to. Its an 'insignificant' example of a bigger problem." Per Refinery29, the singer, who is biracial, caught criticism for taking the stance that included assertions that she herself is white. Halsey answered one such critic in no uncertain terms, replying "No. I am not." (More racial inequality stories.)