Apparently, all Mariah Carey wants this Christmas is for us to empty our wallets.
Like clockwork, once Halloween had come and gone, Carey released her annual video announcing the start of the Christmas season, accompanied by her antimaterialistic anthem “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
Each year, people across social media have become accustomed to this tradition, but this year’s installment was the first iteration that was used as an advertisement, in partnership with Sephora. Unlike videos of years’ past, this one felt different, not just because of the product placement, but specifically its narrative and how it eerily mocks the current issues Americans face today.
The video started like any other, passing the torch from Halloween into Christmas (sorry, Thanksgiving lovers), but the focus quickly shifted to a half-empty Sephora bag on Carey’s vanity. Come to find out the elves have been overworked and decided to go on strike, effectively cancelling Christmas. One elf in particular, depicted by Billy Eichner, decided to take matters into his own hands and steal makeup products to resell them so that he can afford therapy. After trying to take a stand, she tells him that “You can’t cancel Christmas,” before transforming him into a snowman against his will and celebrating the start of the season whether the elves like it or not.
To some, this may seem like another video, but this was a statement. Corporations like Sephora are letting consumers know that, whether we can afford it or not, Christmas is coming, and that we need to prepare regardless of what is happening right outside our doors.
Life for the average American right now is pretty bleak. Due to the ongoing (and record-breaking) government shutdown, the most vulnerable have become pawns in our politicians’ negotiations even more than usual.
In July, all House Republicans voted yes on the Big Beautiful Bill, which cut funding for programs like Medicaid and nutrition assistance programs like SNAP, which helps low-income Americans gain access to medical care and food. As Congress negotiated budgets for 2026, Democrats refused to approve them until these programs were reinstated. Since an agreement wasn’t reached in the best interest of the people, the government went into shutdown on October 1st, 2025.
A month in, we have started to see the ripple effects of our elected officials’ decisions. Over 700,000 federal employees have either been furloughed or are working without pay until the government reopens. On November 1st, nearly 42 million people lost access to their SNAP benefits.
Americans are struggling. Over 8 million people are working multiple jobs just to make ends meet. Our priority is to survive, and if we have the time, we try to find peace amidst the chaos.
With all the nonsense our government is putting us through, consumers have to be more conscious than ever with where they spend their dollar. Target is being boycotted for removing its DEI efforts. Starbucks is being boycotted for its terrible working conditions, union-busting, and its stances on social issues like Black Lives Matter and people advocating for a free Palestine.
The middle class is waking up and realizing that the most effective way to fight back is with our dollar. Thousands are planning to Black Out The System this holiday season, to force corporations to operate in our best interest. So it’s interesting to see companies like Sephora trying to get ahead of the boycotts, and unintentionally shooting themselves in the foot.
Mocking the overworked middle class and how we can’t afford healthcare is a new marketing low. It’s a slap in the face and frankly disrespectful.
These companies know that they need us to make their profit margins and don’t want to stop making them richer. The 1% want us fighting each other, whether that’s between races, sexualities, religious affiliations, immigration status, etc. Because if we are busy fighting each other, we won’t realize that they are our common enemy.
This holiday season, I will be getting back to the reason for the season: love and community. If I buy gifts, it will be from small or local businesses. I will donate what I can to support the most vulnerable members of my community. And I won’t be shopping at Sephora, because I don’t support companies that punch down on their consumers and laugh at our suffering. We deserve better than that.
