What everyone's missing about Diarrha's SKIMS move

The internet is mad and missing the multi-million dollar point

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ICYMI, Diarrha Ndiaye-Mbaye, the founder behind the now shuttered Ami Colé, has just been appointed as the new EVP of Beauty and Fragrance at SKIMS (beauty is something Kim has been teasing since shutting down her standalone beauty venture SKKN by Kim summer 2025).

If you listened to Diarrha’s interview on Emma Grede’s Aspire podcast back in September, it shouldn’t come as a shock that something big was up next for her.

Emma even asked her on their episode if she had her feelers out for a job post founderhood, to which Diarrha responded with a transparent yes. Personally, I could have foreseen an opportunity for Diarrha channeled through Emma one way or another.

Emma, who co-founded SKIMS and serves as COO clearly had a hand in orchestrating this next chapter where Diarrha will lead product development and brand strategy.

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Unfortunately for Diarrha, this career move has ignited a contradiction: where was everyone when she needed our support <> wait! no, we can’t support this next move

With the discourse, most are disappointed that she’s aligning with Kim Kardashian, saying they can’t support a brand that’s long profited off the same culture Diarrha helped represent with integrity.

Others argue she sold out and that not all money is good money. Then of course, there’s Kim’s MAGA adjacency and friendship with Ivanka Trump.

Among some comments I read: “I wanted to see her win, but not like this.” “They’re using her.” “Supporting these culture vultures is sad.” “This is a con to get black women to spend as whites do on Rhode and Rare.”

Oh, brother.

The No-Win Situation

As someone who’s personally been dragged for filth by my own customers for partnering with the Kardashians (by way of POOSH), I feel for Diarrha — especially considering the uplift, support, and messages of regret she received when she announced her closure, only to face this level of scrutiny months later. There’s no business school lecture that prepares you for the kind of pushback you’ll receive after aligning yourself to the Kardashian ecosystem while Black. People rarely have the ability to see past the outrage and consider that such a move could be a lifeline or lead to a successful outcome on your terms.

As a founder friend pointed out in our evening voice notes on the situation, Diarrha is a smart woman who likely anticipated this reaction. She probably felt comfort in knowing that, at the end of the day, we’re not paying her bills — and that the public will never be fully satisfied.

I mean what were her alternatives? Let’s consider some:

• Diarrha declines the role » SKIMS has zero Black women at the executive level, and we complain about the lack of diversity.

• We ask why Emma/SKIMS didn’t invest instead » we judge her for taking the investment from Kim and selling out.

• Diarrha waits for a more “authentic” opportunity » we question why she didn’t strike while she was hot and her visibility was high. She potentially burns a bridge with Emma.

• She takes the role » we say she is using the culture to enrich someone else (don’t Black women do this in most spaces we take up anyway? Lol).

Like can we get a damn grip? There’s no winning and Diarrha has to put herself first, Lucious.

And I say this as one of the few people who came down pretty hard on her and the details surrounding her closure!

Now, sisters, some of what I’m going to say in this paragraph below is house business (IYKYK) so I’m going to walk with you gently as I heed you on this.

It is completely fair to not want to shop or support a brand you don’t align with.

The thing is, nobody is asking you to. Since when do new executive appointments require you to shop a brand you don’t support? People are conflating SKIMS appointing a Black executive with some implicit demand to engage with the brand—and honestly, as someone who indeed thinks everything is that deep—idk about this one.

No offense, but I doubt SKIMS is checking for us like that. They already have their valuation. They’ll survive without our attention, and we’ll survive by not giving it to them. Personally I’d like to see less talking and more dust paying if we’re so bothered.

After all, outrage just fuels more attention. Silence empties pockets.

(One of the reasons I didn’t even waste my time reporting on those pubic hair thongs.)

Don’t we get it by now?

Some things are just not worth getting worked up about. How many more essays do I have to write about us being more delicate with our energy?!

I don’t think it’s fair that Diarrha is being positioned as an inherent victim that can’t see where team SKIMS is pulling the strings. Why are they at the top of this scenario while she’s at the bottom? I think we should assume better of her for now.

Lastly, something’s not sitting right with me about Diarrha absorbing the anger and vitriol while Kim reaps the benefits of the Black outrage she so expertly feeds off.

Stop!

The Part No One’s Talking About

While everyone was arguing morality and feeling conflicted, the money-hungry bitch in me was running up the math.

In addition to what is likely a handsome mid-6 figure salary, Diarrha is walking into the kind of executive role that typically comes with stock options and equity compensation at a $4B company that’s gearing up to go public.

Do you understand how rich that exit would make her?

People outside the founder and startup world underestimate what it means to work for a company pre-IPO, especially at the executive level. When a company goes public, senior execs often have equity or stock options that turn into life-changing payouts. Even a small fraction of equity in a multi-billion-dollar brand can translate to millions for one employee. It’s a strategy tech and finance bros have been using for decades—get in early and hang on long enough for the exit to take care of you.

The timing of her hire is basically a gift from God. SKIMS has already done the hard part with years of scaling and building proof. Diarrha gets to walk on right before what we can assume will be an inevitable IPO.

So while people are online debating, Diarrha is positioning herself for the kind of financial security that most will NEVER reach — even as founders of successful companies.

Mixed Feelings

Part of the reason Ami Colé shut down is because running a business without infinite capital is BRUTAL.

Now, she gets to do the same work (developing products, shaping teams, leading innovation) but with unlimited resources and none of the founder burnout — this is any visionary’s dream (granted, minus the ego stroke of doing it for your own brand).

Also, we can’t forget about her background. Prior to starting Ami Colé, she’s done similar work at prestige beauty brands like Glossier and L’Oreal. If there’s anyone suited for this new leg of SKIMS it’s her, and I’m glad to see she’s managed to land a role in an industry that shuts so many brilliantly overqualified Black women out of corporate.

Here’s where I have mixed feelings.

As that beauty founder friend of mine mentioned above said: “She’s not good enough for you to write a check for, but she’s good enough to run your thing?”

Real.

I echoed that those were my immediate thoughts with the announcement as I thought back to Diarrha’s interview with Emma — early in the episode, they glossed over the fact that Emma didn’t write her a check when she was building Ami Colé —an answer I wanted satisfied 30 seconds into my pressing play.

Of course, everyone’s always so supportive until it’s time to write your black ass a check. Ha.

The way I could name drop so many founders who’ve built respectable brands (that we know), who’ve struggled to raise institutional capital but have had every top beauty brand and FAANG company in their inbox asking them to help build their thing?

This is the piece of the Diarrha SKIMS news that I did find a teensy bit triggering, especially as an ex-founder and a friend to so many others.

Diarrha’s Next Move Says More About Us Than It Does About Her

I’ll be the one to say that we only want people to win in ways that make us feel good.

I don’t think Diarrha owes us a “pure” path that makes us comfortable.

Let me rip the bandaid by saying that the big feelings we’re having around her EVP appointment are displaced.

I literally would not be mad if everyone just let out a scream and said “I hate Kim Kardashian!” How many ways do we have to contort logic before we conclude that’s really what it’s about? That’s what it’s about and it’s actually okay. It’s hard to watch someone we championed align with the opps, even more so in this climate.

I’m alright with feelings, even when I do find them a bit hypocritical.

I meannnn, look. Is Kim likely morally compromised and a little too closely adjacent to the MAGA-tech-oligarch-billionaire pipeline? Lol, duh. They all are. It’s everywhere. Even down to the very platform I’m using to send this newsletter.

Mama, let’s research.

Bernard Arnault literally had dinner with Trump while owning Sephora by way of LVMH. But I bet half the people saying they’ll boycott SKIMS will be first in line for their upcoming (not really a sale) sale.

Are we equally as uncomfortable with the thousands of people who work for Meta to scrape together their New York City rent every month as we are Diarrha working for SKIMS to support herself and her family?

A piece of me selfishly and unrealistically wishes our collective outrage were a bit more thorough.

I don’t know that I’m particularly fond of Kim either, but it doesn’t cloud my ability to see Diarrha’s move for what it is: a calculated bet on herself, her expertise, and her financial future.

My mouth salivates at the thought of that pre-IPO situation for her, man. I truly can’t get over it.

Honestly? Good for her.