That was quick. Days after Belgium fan Axelle Despiegelaere was awarded a modeling contract with French cosmetics giant L'Oréal after being dubbed as the "most beautiful" football supporter during the 2014 World Cup, the company told The Independent that it has cut ties with the seventeen year-old.
Business Insider said Despiegelaere's photo garnered international attention when photographers started focusing on the bevy of beautiful women in the tournament. She especially stood out as she wore her team colors proudly. Upon returning to her native country after Belgium's campaign at the World Cup had ended following its elimination, Despiegelaere announced that she has been contacted by the world's biggest beauty company to work for them as a hair model thanks to her viral images. The teenager had also set up a Facebook page where she amassed thousands of fans, majority of them no doubt had also followed the World Cup as well.
Her good fortune took a wrong turn when she recently posted a photo on Facebook that showed her holding a rifle and sitting behind what looked like a dead gazelle.
The photo's caption read, in reference to Belgium's World Cup match against the US, "Hunting is not a matter of life or death. It's much more important than that..this was about 1 year ago...ready to hunt Americans today haha."
Her photo received negative backlash from fans, especially from the fact that a Texas university student has received criticism from animal rights activists for also sharing similar photos of her hunting and posing with dead animals. Although Despiegelaere apologized, L'Oreal appeared to have not taken the action lightly.
A L'Oreal spokesperson told The Independent, "L'Oréal Professionnel Belgium collaborated with her on an ad hoc basis to produce a video for social media use in Belgium. The contract has now been completed."
The spokesperson also added that the brand is aware of the product, but fell short of confirming whether it had been a factor to Despiegelaere's dismissal. On the other hand, the spokesperson stressed that the company no longer conducts tests on animals anywhere in the world and does not delegate such tasks to others.
