L’Oréal responds as fans question brand for ‘ignoring’ Aishwarya Rai at Cannes

16/05/2026

For decades, cosmetic giant L’Oreal Paris has been almost synonymous with the Cannes Film Festival. The brand has been a sponsor of the prestigious film festival, bringing some of the world's top stars to the red carpet for years.
Among the biggest L’Oreal ambassadors at Cannes over the past 20 years has been Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai, a regular on the Cannes red carpet. So it was strange when L’Oreal unveiled its ambassadors at Cannes’ Le Martinez Hotel with giant banner posters this week, and Aishwarya was absent.
The six posters included other major L’Oreal ambassadors, including another Indian star, Alia Bhatt, but Aishwarya was conspicuously absent. L’Oreal Paris shared the visual on their Instagram account, writing, “Consider this L’Oréal Paris’s official check-in, Le Martinez is officially home for the Festival.”
However, the comments were filled with Aishwarya Rai fans questioning her absence from the promotions. “Where's the mother of Cannes #AishwaryaRaiBachchan,” asked one. Another added, “It's too much! This time, L'Oreal is going overboard.
The poster doesn't feature a legend like Aishwarya, who made the L'Oreal brand popular across the entire Asian continent, but instead highlights some actresses who are just two days old!” One even went as far as to say, “I'm sorry but Aishwarya Rai will forever be much bigger than Alia Bhatt.”
Amid all these comments calling the brand out, one seemed to have attracted L’Oreal’s attention, too. One fan tagged the brand and wrote, “Where is @aishwaryaraibachchan_arb? We only see Aishwarya Rai Bachchan during Cannes.
We want to see her more. Her aura is unmatched. Please promote and celebrate her more.” The official account of L’Oreal Paris responded, “Year after year, Cannes after Cannes, she never misses.” However, the response only elicited more angry messages. “Where is her poster then,” asked one fan. Another declared, “You are just back of new faces but forgetting the way Aishwarya brought you fame in Asia @lorealparis you need to answer or be ready to get your worth down.”
Aishwarya first appeared at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002, when she walked the red carpet with Shah Rukh Khan and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali for the premiere of their film, Devdas. The following year, she appeared on the red carpet as a L’Oreal ambassador for the first time. Since 2003, she has walked the Cannes red carpet each year.

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