I have been a LuLaRoe Retailer for just over a year.
I’ve even written about it on this site. About how it brought my husband home full time and about all the things you need to become a retailer.
Now?
Now I’m here to tell you I’m sorry I ever wrote about them.
LuLaRoe has decided to stand with a retailer who openly mocked people with disabilities on a live video sale.
That’s nothing I can stand behind.
I was going to quietly stop selling. I was going to offer my friends and family a great deal on the inventory we have left.
Now? Now I’m done being quiet.
LuLaRoe Backs Retailer Who Mocked People With Disabilities
I stayed with LuLaRoe when they have royally messed up in the past.
I didn’t complain to anyone outside my family or my fellow retailers when they had several disaster product launches.
I chocked it all up to “growing pains”.
They’re a new company.
They’ll find their way.
Nope.
Not anymore.
This retailer mocked people with disabilities during a live sale. You can see the video here. *Warning, it’s ableist. Obviously*
Psssst… Check out this post on the ridiculously simple way to know if something’s ableist.
Then? They apologized. Kind of, but not really.
See, the retailer had his sister-in-law who has Down Syndrome sit with him through the apology.
They laughed and joked through the entire “apology” video, saying that’s just how they joke around and clearly they shouldn’t have done it… live.
He repeatedly says things like “I always thought I’d have a Down Syndrome in my family” which is incredibly offensive and doesn’t make any sense, anyways.
You can see the ridiculous “apology” video here. *Again, ableist, gross, and just awful*
PS: Grab a list of disability-friendly businesses by entering your email below
LuLaRoe and The National Down Syndrome Society
LuLaRoe’s owners have a granddaughter named Scarlet.
As is custom, Scarlet got a dressed named for her.
And because Scarlet has Down Syndrome, a percentage of every Scarlet sold is donated to the NDSS.
At last year’s convention, LuLaRoe held a gala and auction and donated all proceeds to NDSS.
They partnered together at NDSS’s Buddy Walk event in New York.
So clearly, LuLaRoe would swiftly handle their retailer being ableist while representing the company, right?
Wrong.
(Related: Learn all the reasons I don’t support Autism Speaks Here…)
How NDSS and LuLaRoe Responded
The NDSS made their statement which you can see on their Facebook page here.
And then LuLaRoe made a follow-up statement about how they didn’t want to threaten this person’s business.
You can find LuLaRoe’s statement here.
I was heartbroken.
See, Chris and I had made the decision to stop selling.
LuLaRoe takes a lot of time, effort, and space, and we could better spend our time elsewhere.
We were going to leave quietly.
We were going to smile and tell people we love LuLaRoe, we just had other things we had to do.
Now?
LuLaRoe has made it abundantly clear that they do not care about what’s right.
They care about what makes them money.
I cannot in good conscience support a company that has made such a horrific decision while saying it “loves all people”.
This is where I’ll let you in on a little something.
This summer I was pregnant with my fifth baby, Sweet C.
Doctors told us that our chances that Sweet C would be born with Down Syndrome were doubled.
Chris and I were fine.
The doctors treated us like glass.
Why did they do that?
Because society still believes there’s something wrong with Down Syndrome.
Society still promotes the idea that people with disabilities aren’t worth as much as people without disabilities.
That’s a belief that LuLaRoe promoted today, and that’s a belief I adamantly fight against as an autistic woman and disability advocate.
If you want to stand up and fight against this belief with me, there is something you can do.
What You Can Do Now
Donate to the National Down Syndrome Society Here.
Seriously, that’s the biggest actionable step you can take.
That LuLaRoe gala I told you about above? It brought in more than NDSS’s annual budget.
Cutting ties with LuLaRoe is going to hurt them financially.
I’m immensely proud of them that they are going to cut ties and stand up for what is right.
They are an organization with integrity, they’re one that deserves our support, and they really need that support now that one of their largest donors is gone.
Join a Facebook group where the voices of parents, family members, caregivers, and autistic people are all welcome and respected below.
I applaud you for writing this. I was getting ready to stop buying LLR anyway given some unethical business practices they allegedly have going on and the pending lawsuits
but this just pushed me to my limit. I am boycotting them. This was the final straw. I was a pro hostess and big time customer. I was waiting in the queue that is seemingly endless in Canada as it’s not “official” here yet. I was angry before that it was taking so long to onboard. Now I see I was spared costing my family thousands of dollars and forming an alliance with people that would think this way. The video and subsequent “non apology” made me want to vomit. I was a social worker that worked with individuals with complex special needs and their families. I saw what they went through on a daily basis. I live with several invisible disabilities myself. the LAST thing those of us that live with disabilities needs is more stigma. Any company that would sever ties with the NDSS over protecting a bully is revolting. I applaud the NDSS and people like you for speaking out.
You should join the Facebook group Lularoe Sales and GOOB to sell off your inventory.
As a mom of a son with Down syndrome, thank you so much for your decision. I too was very disappointed in their response, I can only imagine how hard it would be to give up a livelihood for your family. I hope everything goes well for you.
This was my reply to a FB post about this article, and I leave you a copy for your consideration. Keep in mind while reading it that there is little I haven’t experienced in life that couldn’t be (and in fact is) made fun of by this world on a daily basis, including by my self.
After watching the initial video that was complained about, then watching the apology video, I have to say that I strongly feel like the companies reaction to this man being a retailer was appropriate. He is clearly just a regular man who made a very typical joke mocking himself by using a form of self-deprecation that unfortunately isn’t very nice. My own son has done that.(and he’s a good, kind, respectful person in general.) For that matter I know very very few people in my generation who haven’t done it. We didn’t grow up in times of sensitivity and sensitivity training. I found his apology video to be extremely sincere. Actually I thought his wife was the insincere one which is funny because it’s her sister sitting there, and, she’s not even the one who did it. I think this country has gotten to the most ridiculous point of being overly sensitive about things. Every single time new stories go across the internet there will always be one that is somebody chastising somebody else for doing something that they don’t think they should have done. Next thing you know the person is getting death threats. This world is self-centered and unloving in general and every one of those people giving that man death threats and nasty videos has done something similar to what he did, whether it was the exact same thing or whether it was making fun of somebody else without even thinking about it, because ‘that’s how they grew up’ or because they ‘have it too’, or something. They’re all hypocrites. I would think that, for example, any number of those people who are criticizing him online have a child who maybe has Asperger syndrome, for example. If you know a kid with Asperger’s Syndrome you know they’ll say just about anything when it pops into their head and they don’t see why you should have a problem with it because they see in ‘black and white’. If you have a problem with it you’re stupid. They just can’t understand. Now imagine that your child does something like that, says something like that, in public; and you know them, and that in general they’re kind to whoever they said something about, and that they didn’t think anything about it and they’re getting death threats now. This world is just ridiculous. I don’t buy lularoe and I never have. It’s just not my style of stuff. But honestly if I did I would still be buying from them. I didn’t find that video horribly offensive so much as inappropriate. And I feel like his apology was sincere. And I think the company reacted appropriately because there’s no reason to shut someone’s life down because they made a stupid mistake and it doesn’t identify who they are as a person. That’s just how I feel. And at the risk of being offensive myself, I saw that the original woman who blogged about this claims to have autism while also having a famous, very busy, blog, a lularoe business that keeps her and her husband home full-time, and raises five children all successfully all at the same time. I don’t know one high-functioning autistic person who I believe could handle all of that. And I know a few. I couldn’t even handle all of that and I’m not autistic. So I would be hard-pressed to think that she wasn’t using the label of autism very, very lightly in order to further her cause a little bit, which I find offensive. But I also don’t see that as a reason to shut down her business and stop her from caring for her family. Again I think that this world has gotten out of control with its so-called sensitivity that is really just an excuse to slam everybody who doesn’t think exactly the way they do and includes no room for forgiveness of anything. That’s just my thoughts on the matter. The whole thing has been blown out of proportion.
I can agree with you that extreme reactions such as death threats are uncalled for. However, I do not think the reaction to disassociate yourself from somebody who goes against your core beliefs is over reacting.
Yes people say stupid stuff and yes people overreact. We can agree there.
But, when something goes against your core belief it is ok to stand up and say, this is not ok to me and I will not be a part of it.
In this case, the not ok was ableism. Ableism is very prominent in our culture, but that doesn’t make it ok. People standing up against ableism also does not make them “sensitive”. I would highly suggest you read up on ableism and discrimination against the disabled community. There is a difference between sensitivity and understanding what demographics outside of our own face on an everyday basis.
What you wrote is considered abelistic. I know that you did not mean it with harm, but it is harmful. It says, mocking special needs and then saying it’s ok if I do this because I know someone with special needs and they laugh when I do it is ok. Then you take it even further and say this person cannot be autistic because she is successful in what she wants her life to be and I am normal and couldn’t do this. Keyword there is normal.
You set the bar at normal.
Please take some time to read up on what ableism is. Because what you wrote, is exactly why people are upset.
Clearly you don’t have someone in your life that has special needs. There are consequences in life for every action we take. While the retailer and LLR have every right to make their own decisions so does NDSS and I for one think they made the right decision. They have a mission statement in which they fight for the rights of people with Down Syndrome and if they chose to uphold their relationship with LLR they would be going against this mission statement. Just because LLR changes their mission statement to fit their financial gains does not mean that others do the same!
Did he mess up? Yes and his apology wasn’t sincere he used his SIL as a pawn on why he thinks it’s acceptable for him to act like that so he didn’t take accountability and LLR didn’t hand down a consequence of his action but NDSS did and I fully support them in doing so.
Ableist, at its core. Until you are affected by a disability or love someone who is, and is then ridiculed for it, be quiet. And you have NO right to presume you can diagnose autism. Educate yourself, please.
Stop normalizing bad behavior
As the mother of an Aspergers child please do not give your impression of what our children may or may not do, stereotyping is harmful and hurtful. Just like some people are idiots and some aren’t, some people have no clue and others do…all children on the spectrum are different as are what their areas of hardship or difficulty are. This is an issue of respect and perpetuating the lack of serves no one.
Thank you. I’ve known Rob for 12 years. It was a stupid mistake. He is a good guy and unfortunately not the best at public speaking. I completely agree that what he said was wrong but he was only trying to make it right when he apologized. The last thing he meant (and honestly wasn’t even on his mind) was offending someone.
Thank you for writing this. I am also a retailer who has recently decided not to continue on for many of the same reasons you listed. This action they have taken with NDSS is disgusting and believe they should have stood behind NDSS, an honorable charity. Not only did they make the wrong call on this one, it is also clearly driven by their GREED for money.
I too was going to go out quietly, despite their “90% refund of returned product” that is a COMPLETE lie. I’m disgusted that I allowed myself to be apart of such a company as LuLaRoe.
LuLaRoe is a cult and barely a step over a “pyramid scheme” in my opinion.
Thank you for taking a stand <3
I’m glad people like you are speaking up about this. However, this isn’t the first big instance with a rep of LLR. Amber Jones has and continues to disparage and not be accommodating to those with hearing impairment. She is one of their biggest reps and it is uncalled for.
I hadn’t heard about this until this all blew up. So disappointing.
Thank you so much for taking a stand. As a mother of a ASD child I look for puzzle piece clothing and items to wear to support my child and let awareness be known. This sickens me to know that people can be so uneducated. I was going to buy a pair of leggings this year from this company. But now I think I will just purchase somewhere else. This is a disgrace. We are not in High school anymore. And it’s sad that GROWN people are more hateful and demeaning than kids.
Check out Charlie’s project (https://charliesprojectspecialorders.com/) I believe 20% of orders go to the NDSS still. 20% of orders go to various orders all the time, right now it’s the NDSS, the leggings and such are great. They take longer to come but you can get exactly what you want, a portion of your order goes to a great cause, and the products are better quality than LLR. My son is on the spectrum, I bought their autism puzzle heart leggings, I love them!
I am sorry but this is way overblown considering the REALLY horrible things that people do to intentionally mock and harm special needs people. And before you ask, I AM the mother of an 11 year old gorgeous daughter with Williams syndrome. And my daughter has taught me that hate is not how you go. Hate is a waste of time, and it’s not in her nature. It is not in the nature of anyone with WS. I have been an advocate for WS and on the BoD for a foundation and raised money and helped get individuals with WS technology and other things they needed as well as been an advocate for ALL rare diseases in DC for the past 4 years. If any of you haters can say that you have never called someone fat or mocked someone, then you are a liar. Because we ALL make mistakes in our lives, we all have moments where we do stupid things and I truly believe after watching both videos that this is what happened. I don’t think he did anything so terrible – I have played with my own daughter like that before, hell she herself does what he did and makes funny noises and she IS a special needs child! FOR GOD SAKE PEOPLE WAKE UP! There are a hell of a lot more out there than to be worried about this. So LLR cut ties with NDSS – let them do it and you don’t have to shop there if you don’t want to – I never have and never will so it won’t matter to me anyway. But I am not going to sit and let this bother me over a simple mistake that someone made that really seemed to be mocking himself if anything. I don’t know about all of you but I have never actually seen a special needs person do that and not be laughing at themselves. So please – stop with all the hate, the death threats, the “oh he’s such a liar and he’s using his SIL as a pawn”. Whatever. Give it a rest and work on the things that REALLY need attention such as awareness and spreading hope and LOVE. As for me that is exactly what I will continue doing because I have for 11 years now. And trust me as a parent, as part of a HUGE community – I have seen far worse than this – I have seen WS individuals get molested, spend most of their lives in the hospital, seen them pass away at 2 months, 6 months, 2 years, 6 years (this one actually happened when my own daughter was 6 years old so yeah that was hard to think about), 17 years, and 51 years. I have been introduced to a man who is from China who has twin daughters with WS which is almost unheard of. So why don’t we quit focusing on the things that really are not going to matter (I mean come on he is a LLR consultant, not like he is some big celeb or something important), and focus on the things that DO matter such as making our healthcare system better so that CHIP gets put back in place, advocating on Capitol Hill as I have done for the past 4 years which has helped push through several bills for rare disease patients, and stop worrying about all of this. He is ONE person and yes there are ALWAYS going to be more people out there who will mock and they will do worse (like ohhh the bastards who have assaulted special needs people this past year SIMPLY because they could). Yet you are angry because some dude that no one really gives a shit about or knows showed a few seconds of stupidity???? You people need to wake up! Just don’t shop LLR anymore, stop being a consultant, give it up – but please don’t tell me they don’t care about special needs people – I mean their own daughter has Down syndrome so obviously they care a great deal – but I would not have fired a consultant over this had I been the owners either even having a special needs child. Because I can tell the difference, because I know there are far worse things happening in our world, and because well I am just a better person than that.
You fight for people to be represented. For them to have a voice.
But, then in the same breath say his voice doesn’t matter because he isn’t a celebrity or someone important.
I hate to break it to you but that’s hypocritical. If you believe that all voices matter and then that’s all people.
There is some horrible shit in this world. I will give that to you. But you can’t fight the big battles while ignoring the “small” stuff. Well I mean I guess you can but you’ll just be on a hamster wheel because at the end of the day you are saying as long as it isn’t atrocious at an extreme level it isn’t worth changing.
Change starts small. I’m sure you have heard that cliche before.
And oh. Just because you do it or other people do it…it doesn’t make it anything else other than abelistic.
Great job Mama! I applaud you for writing this and providing ALL of the details so people can’t try to spin it the other way, even though sadly people will defend him and the company. Those people don’t deserve to know the love that we get every day from our loved ones with DS and other special needs.
My husband and son both have autism. We’ve been following this from the very beginning. When the Deaf woman was harassed, we decided to not buy any more LLR. When this happened, we decided to speak up within our community and I am no longer wearing any LLR. This behavior is accepted by a company (more than once), and I cannot support that in any way. Instead, I will spend our money at our local boutique that is owned and run by the special education teachers who help my son and so many others. It may not be any less expensive but it’s a way to support not only the community but also the people who do truly make a difference in the lives of children with disabilities.
I’m so, so disappointed that anyone would be okay defending this behavior, especially those who know and love someone with a disability.
Their response was more than disappointing. I would have been outraged !