Halsey says hotels provide shampoos that 'alienate people of color' — and her tweets are sparking a debate over white privilege

• On Thursday, Halsey expressed her frustrations with the "hotel toiletry industry" on Twitter.
• In a series of tweets, the 23-year-old singer, whose father is black and mother is white, argued that the free shampoos hotels provide "entirely [alienate] people of color."
• The singer's tweets have since divided the internet.
• Some are praising the artist for highlighting an important issue, which they say is just one example of how white privilege can permeate everyday life.
• But others believe that Halsey's frustrations are unfounded or overblown.

A singer's tweets about complimentary toiletries in hotels have sparked a conversation about white privilege online.

On Thursday, Halsey took to Twitter to express her frustrations with the "hotel toiletry industry." In a series of tweets, the 23-year-old singer, whose father is black and mother is white, argued that the free shampoos hotels provide "entirely [alienate] people of color."

"I can't use this perfumed watered down white people shampoo," Halsey said. "Neither can 50% of [your] customers. Annoying."

The singer's tweets have since divided the internet. Some are praising the artist for highlighting an important issue, which they say is just one example of how white privilege can permeate everyday life — leading people of color to feel excluded, inconvenienced, or neglected.

But others believe that Halsey's frustrations are unfounded or overblown.

Halsey later acknowledged the debate over her tweets but said she was "not sorry" for raising the issue. "Who knew me acknowledging that white hair care products are the national standard (while POC are confined to a tiny aisle) would piss so many people off?" she tweeted.

The singer also responded to people who had asked her why she doesn't just bring her own shampoos when she stays in hotels. "I'm fortunate enough to be financially in a position to do so," Halsey said, "but POC traveling frequently for work/medical reasons might not be."

In the last of her series of tweets, Halsey doubled down on her original argument, noting that the issue with hotel toiletries is indicative of a larger obstacle people of color often have to face. The singer said that the "mass production" of such products as the "standard" in society "is part of a greater problem of disenfranchisement."

"If white [people] can enjoy the luxury/convenience, there should be an option for everyone to," she tweeted. "It's an 'insignificant' example of a bigger problem. That's all!"

This isn't the first time Halsey has opened up about race issues. The singer has also spoken out about what it's like being a "white-passing" black woman, and how she self-identifies.

"I look like a white girl, but I don't feel like one. I'm a black woman," she told Playboy magazine in 2017. "So it's been weird navigating that. When I was growing up I didn't know if I was supposed to love TLC or Britney."

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