As someone who's really into the beauty industry, I like to know about the lives and personalities of the bloggers and artists that I follow. I have friends who rave about Jeffree Star products and who watch his videos, but I had heard some things about him that I didn't like, so I figured I'd do my research and figure out who the person behind this big name in beauty actually is.
Jeffree Star is a YouTuber, beauty blogger, and owns a cosmetic line called Jeffree Star Cosmetics. His videos mostly include makeup tutorials and product reviews. He's been a public figure for over ten years, and he started his career off on the wrong foot for sure when he posted a particularly racist video on MySpace. In the video, he commented that he wanted to throw battery acid on a black woman so that her skin would be lighter to match her foundation. He also called his friend a "black bitch" as she was pretending to be a stereotypical black woman. The video can be seen here.
Jeffree has since apologized for the things he said in this video, and normally, I would think that because this happened a decade ago, he's probably changed. However, an apology means nothing without a change in behavior, and this is not the end of Jeffree Star's racism and misogyny.
Jeffree is a self-proclaimed drama queen, which is all well and good, but he takes it to a ridiculous extent when he starts Twitter feuds with other makeup bloggers and even fans if they criticize him or his brand whatsoever, and sometimes, these feuds often escalate into racism and misogyny. Most recently, an African-American beauty YouTuber named Jackie Aina pointed out that Star had blocked her on Instagram for saying in a video that she doesn't use his products. This turned into Jeffree criticizing her for feeling the need to point out that he blocked her. He also implied that she was only talking about him to gain followers and that the video where she talked about not using his products was her most successful in recent months because he was a "hot topic."
Jeffree also called her a rat, and Jackie ended the feud by pointing out that his apologies didn't make him any less racist, and that he continued to harass any and all black women who didn't worship him.
Another notable feud was the one he started with beauty blogger MakeupByShayla. Star claimed that Shayla told another YouTuber that Jeffree's face was disproportionate and that he should get lip fillers. He called her both a c*nt and a h*e for allegedly making these comments. This is uncalled for, whether she actually said those things or not. He also threatened to beat her up, and when she pointed out that advocating for violence against women was problematic, he responded "but you look and sound more like a man than I do... So relax."
I've heard a lot of good things about Jeffree Star's cosmetic line, so I understand wanting to use his products, but there a plenty of brands without racist and misogynistic owners whose products or just as good (if not better) than Jeffree's. So, before you blindly support a makeup brand because you've heard good things about the products, do your research.
