Ulta Apologizes for "Insensitive" Email About Kate Spade, Who Died by Suicide

After sending an email that seemingly referenced Kate Spade’s death by hanging, Ulta Beauty has issued a new email apologizing for the “error.”

By Kelly Gilmore May 02, 2022 10:22 PMTags
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After sending an email that insensitively referenced the late Kate Spade—who died by suicide in 2018—Ulta Beauty has issued an apology.

According to TMZ, the beauty retailer sent an email to its mailing list on May 1 that read, "Come hang with Kate Spade and get $15 off." On May 2, Ulta Beauty sent a new email addressing the matter as a human "error."

"In an email we recently sent featuring the kate spade new york brand fragrances, a very insensitive choice of words was used and for that we are very sorry," the email began. "We have the utmost respect for the kate spade brand and the joy it brings to the beauty and fashion industries. At Ulta Beauty, our teams are human, and this was truly an error with no intent to do harm."

The brand then went on to acknowledge the month of May's significance as Mental Health Awareness Month.

"We're keenly aware that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental health is a very serious and important issue in this country, and not something we would ever take lightly," the message read. "We are working internally to ensure something like this never happens again."

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Concluding the message, Ulta Beauty issued an apology to the Spade family and its partners.

"To the Spade family and to our kate spade brand partners, we're deeply sorry – and to our guests, we apologize for this upsetting mistake," the email read. "Simply put, this is below our standards."

Wendy Maeda/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

On June 5, 2018, Kate was found dead from suicide by hanging inside her Park Avenue apartment in New York City. One day after her passing, Kate's husband, Andy Spade, issued a statement to E! News on the legacy she left behind.

"Kate was the most beautiful woman in the world," his message began. "She was the kindest person I've ever known and my best friend for 35 years. My daughter and I are devastated by her loss, and can't even begin to fathom life without her. We are deeply heartbroken and miss her already."

Continuing his statement, Andy shared that the designer had been battling "personal demons" prior to her death.

"Kate suffered from depression and anxiety for many years. She was actively seeking help and working closely with her doctors to treat her disease, one that takes far too many lives. We were in touch with her the night before and she sounded happy. There was no indication and no warning that she would do this. It was a complete shock. And it clearly wasn't her. There were personal demons she was battling."

If you or someone you know needs help, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.