Good Dye Young controversy explained as Paramore's Hayley Williams issues lengthy apology on Twitter

Hayley Williams and Brian O’Connor's hair products company landed in hot waters following Twitter controversy with Brazilian Paramore fans (Image via Getty Images/Araya Doheny and GDY/Instagram)

Good Dye Young, a renowned hair products company established by Paramore's Hayley Williams and hairstylist Brian O’Connor, recently came under fire for being involved in a Twitter controversy.

As per media reports, a team member of the organization reportedly posted a joke on their personal Twitter account targeted towards Brazilian Paramore fans. The joke was deemed to be racially inappropriate and left the community disappointed.

On November 4, the official account of Good Dye Young addressed the situation on social media and posted an apology on Twitter. More recently, Hayley Williams issued another lengthy apology directly acknowledging the controversy on behalf of the company and her partner, Brian.

GDY issued an official apology following Twitter controversy (Image via GDY/Facebook)

Hayley Williams joined hands with her longtime hairstylist and makeup artist Brian O’Connor to establish her own hair dye company in 2016 after four years of planning.

Good Dye Young came to be recognized for its vegan and cruelty-free dyes and gained immense popularity across the globe, especially among Paramore fans. However, the company recently landed in hot waters due to a controversy on Twitter.

The controversy began when a team member of the company talked about Good Dye Young’s Instagram hack and ended up targeting Brazilian fans as a joke. In a now-deleted tweet, the employee wrote:

“Now which one of the Brazilian Paramore stans hacked and deleted GDY’s Instagram.”

Following the controversy, her Twitter account and tweets were removed from the platform. On November 4, the official account of Good Dye Young took to Twitter to apologize to fans for the behavior of the employee. It was mentioned that the staff member initially engaged in a humorous banter with Brazilian Paramore fans and made a controversial remark “intended as a joke”.

The company also clarified that the employee did not intend to hurt anyone’s feelings and issued an immediate apology on their personal account. However, both the apology and the employee’s Twitter account were taken down for “safety and security” purposes as they allegedly received death threats following the incident.

The brand also mentioned that “inclusivity” stands at the core of their message and that the company is passionate about “activism and advocacy” and would not intentionally offend any community. They further apologized for the inconvenience and shared that they will continue to build a healthy community connection.

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Hayley Williams says the incident has been a "reality check" for the company

Hayley Williams issued lengthy public apology over GDY controversy (Image via Getty Images/Jeff Kravitz)

Following the Twitter controversy surrounding Good Dye Young’s employee and consistent outrage on social media, Hayley Williams personally addressed the situation in a lengthy apology post. She shared that the incident resulted in a lot of “reality checks” and “wake up calls” for the founders:

The singer also communicated with the Brazilian fans and called them the most passionate group while apologizing for the situation:

The 32-year-old also shared that the company took responsibility for its actions and introduced several changes in regards to new standards and policies. She also mentioned that the company has contacted professionals to conduct diversity, inclusion and sensitivity training:

Good Dye Young also reportedly hired a global third party human resources agency to establish principles on interactions and company philosophies. The brand has also decided to conduct Culture Check-ups every two weeks:

Hayley concluded her apology stating the founders are hoping to make consumers proud by learning from missteps and drawing the community closer.