Lancôme, the global cosmetic brand owned by L’Oreal, canceled a Hong Kong event with a pro-democracy singer, after a Chinese state newspaper complained online and Chinese citizens threatened to boycott. The company is now facing a boycott in Hong Kong…Lancôme abruptly decided to cancel a musical performance by Denise Ho…citing “safety reasons.” Ho is one of a handful of outspoken Hong Kong celebrities who openly supports democracy—and was the first to be arrested during the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests…the singer demanded an explanation from Lancôme’s head office…

The trouble started when the state-backed Chinese tabloid Global Times asked its followers on Sina Weibo about their “views” on mouthwash brand Listerine and Lancôme hiring “Hong Kong poison” Ho…as a spokesperson. Nearly 3,000 people commented and retweeted it…Weibo users called for a boycott of not only Lancôme but all other brands under L’Oreal...

On Sunday afternoon, Lancôme’s Hong Kong office released a statement saying Ho was not a spokesperson for the brand and “apologized” for any inconvenience caused...it followed up with another saying it was canceling...event with Ho altogether…As of Monday morning, nearly 25,000 Hong Kong supporters had posted “angry” emoticons on Lancome’s Facebook page…

Meanwhile, Listerine has yet to respond to the Global Times post and continues to use Ho in its Facebook cover photo. Many netizens in Hong Kong have vowed to include Listerine mouthwash in their daily dental cleansing routine.