SKIMS Refunded Everyone. Then Its Cofounder Called Them ‘Haters.’

The apology was thorough. SKIMS told Page Six it had “listened carefully” to the buyers of its $148 Accessories Advent Calendar, admitted the calendar “didn’t meet expectations,” and personally contacted every customer who bought one with a choice of a full refund or store credit. Days later, the brand’s cofounder stood on a New York sidewalk, smiled into a TMZ camera, and said she doesn’t worry about the haters.

What $148 bought

The calendar went on sale in late October — £158 in the UK — promising “twelve days of fun surprises”: “a mix of playful items and everyday favorites,” in the listing’s own words. It sold out and went to a waitlist. Then the doors started opening on TikTok.

Behind them were keychains, hair ties, scrunchies, bobby pins, hair clips and bra-strap headbands, plus a squishy SKIMS toy. Everyday favorites, certainly. Nothing that explained $148.

One unboxing did the real damage. A creator posting as @wetsloppyswollen opened all twelve days in a single video, and it has been watched more than 64 million times. Her review, mid-opening: “Kimberly, you’re genuinely about to piss me off. This is way too expensive.” In the comments, buyers called it a “box full of pranks.” One said they “wouldn’t pay $15.”

The apology came with money attached

SKIMS answered on November 9, in a statement to Page Six. “We’re aware of the feedback some customers have shared about the Skims Advent Calendar, and we’ve listened carefully,” it said. Because “the calendar didn’t meet expectations,” the company had “personally contacted every customer who purchased the calendar and offered them a choice of a full refund or a Skims credit to put towards other products.”

“We want every customer to be truly happy with what they receive from Skims,” the statement went on. “Their feedback matters to us and will directly shape how we approach future releases.” Buyers also received an email — shown in screenshots shared online — admitting the team behind the calendar had “fell short”: return it for a full refund, or keep it and take $150 in credit.

As apologies go, this one had money behind it. That is usually how you tell it means something.

“I don’t worry about the haters”

The apology was barely out when TMZ caught up with Emma Grede in New York. Grede is SKIMS’ founding partner and chief product officer — the product side of the company, and this was a product failure. The reporter put it to her directly: “What do you wanna say to the haters? You know, stuff happens in business. What do you wanna say to the people that were judging that calendar?”

“Your question is really good,” Grede said. “You know, I don’t worry about the haters. It’s a new day!” She shrugged, and she smiled.

The clip passed 1.3 million views on TikTok alone, and the replies wrote the review. “The haters? lol you mean your consumers???” one person wrote. “Why they refunding everyone if they don’t care about the haters then?” asked another. On Reddit: “paying customers aren’t haters lol.”

The word was handed to her. She picked it up anyway.

Grede’s defense exists, and her defenders made it plainly: TMZ’s reporter said “haters” first. “The question was about HATERS and not consumers,” one commenter argued. “So her answer was relevant.” Fair enough — as far as it goes.

It just doesn’t reach the second half of the question. She was also asked what she would say to “the people that were judging that calendar” — and those people were the buyers. The same buyers her company had just contacted one by one to say it had fallen short, with refunds attached. She answered both halves of the question with the same word.

That is the collision at the center of this. A refund is an admission that the complaint was legitimate. “Haters” is a claim that it never was. SKIMS delivered the first message with its own money behind it; its cofounder cancelled it on camera, smiling, while the apology was still the news.

Kim Kardashian, the face on the box, has stayed out of it publicly. The calendar remains sold out. Neither fact changes the arithmetic Grede left on that sidewalk: the customers were worth $150 in credit when the email went out, and worth a shrug and a new word — haters — when the cameras found her.