SZA Was Reported To Sephora Security While Buying Makeup

In the last few months, a story that keeps cropping up in the news is the familiar tale of an aggrieved person calling police or security on a person of color just going about their lives. As the narrative of policing space repeats itself, the perpetrators have been given colorful nicknames by people on social media, like “BBQ Becky,” “Permit Patty,” and so on. Now, thanks to SZA, we can add “Sephora Sandy” to the list, as the singer says she was harassed by security while shopping for makeup recently.

“Lmao Sandy Sephora location 614 Calabasas called security to make sure I wasn’t stealing,” she wrote on Twitter sometime after the incident. “We had a long talk. U have a blessed day Sandy.” She also wondered whether “a bitch cop her fenty in peace er whut.” It’s an unfortunately familiar tale for many people of color, as anecdotes of being followed in stores have permeated art and comedy for years. A recent episode of Open Mike Eagle’s Comedy Central show The New Negroes tackled this phenomenon with a parodic music video, “Police Myself,” that found Mike being watched like a hawk while buying groceries while another shopper filled their bags with items on five-finger discount and escaped without scrutiny.

It’s an annoyance that only some of us have to live with and that’s why it’s unjust. SZA is just one of many to experience that annoyance, but as long as there’s social media, it doesn’t look like we’ll stop hearing these stories anytime soon.