Huda Kattan Faces Controversy Over Anti-Israel World War Conspiracy Video

Influencer and Huda Beauty founder Huda Kattan is facing controversy over statements she made about Israel in a video shared on TikTok on July 29, 2025.

According to the BBC, the Iraqi-American made anti-Israel remarks that pushed conspiracy theories in the video, which was taken down by TikTok. A petition was also circulated demanding that Sephora remove Huda Beauty products from its inventory.

Huda Kattan is an American woman of Iraqi descent who was born in Oklahoma. She became an influencer and founded her company, Huda Beauty, in 2013 with her sisters, Mona and Alya, per CNBC.

The beauty influencer allegedly claimed that Israel is connected to WWI and WWII and the bombing of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and that the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, was orchestrated by Israel. Israel was founded in 1948. WWI ended in 1918, and WWII ended in 1945.

Despite Israel being founded after both World Wars ended, Huda shared the conspiracy theory with her 11 million followers.

"All of the conspiracy theories coming out, and a lot of evidence behind them," she said, per CNN. "That Israel has been behind World War I, World War II, September 11, October 7 — they allowed all of this stuff to happen. Is this crazy? Like, I had a feeling — I was like, ‘Are they behind every world war?’ Yes.”

According to Us Weekly, backlash quickly followed.

TikTok removed the video following the backlash. Huda is a strong supporter of Palestine and claimed she made the video to protest the genocide happening there. Israel began bombing Palestine after Hamas attacked the country on Oct. 7, 2023, and murdered 1,200 people. While many feel that Israel was justified in fighting back after the horrific terror attack, the government has since been criticized for committing genocide. Huda later apologized in a video shared on Instagram.

“It’s no secret that I have been speaking out about Palestine for quite some time," she began. "And that happened from me learning about the Palestinian cause, feeling really frustrated seeing so much injustice happening to the people of Palestine, things that I don’t see how can be justified. As things escalated and the more that I learned, I’ve always tried to use my voice."

She also said she did not condone Jewish hate or hate of any kind while claiming her words were taken out of context.

"The words were twisted so badly that the narrative came out, which I was so disappointed in, that, essentially, I was not recognizing the Holocaust, or I was basically saying that Jews created the Holocaust," she continued. "I am just so tired of seeing children starve, people maimed, living in tents and being bombed while living in tents while they’re just trying to survive the already excruciating and inhabitable conditions that they’re living in."

"In order to silence you from speaking out, to silence me, they do what they always do," she added. "They twist your words, label you an antisemite, and, right now, I’m experiencing all of that."

The CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, called Huda's comments "vile."

“Spreading vile myths about Jews to millions of followers isn’t just reckless," he said. "It’s dangerous."