The YouTube beauty community has changed dramatically over the years. There used to be only a handful
of "beautubers," but now there are dozens of professional beauty influencers with their
own makeup lines. And the more influencers there are, it seems, the more drama there
is.
In May 2019, Jaclyn Hill announced the long-awaited launch of her cosmetics line, Jaclyn Cosmetics.
In her video, Hill promoted her collection of nude lipsticks as "creamy" and "moisturizing,"
with a, quote, "custom blend of fragrance that kind of smells like vanilla butter cake."
When they were actually released to the public, however, they didn't exactly live up to the
hype.
In the video "The Truth About Jaclyn Hill Cosmetics," fellow beautuber Raw Beauty Kristi
broke down the problems consumers were having with Hill's lipsticks, as many had allegedly
found the products to be covered in a strange film and filled with holes.
"Do I feel comfortable recommending these to you off of my first impression? Absolutely
not."
Most shockingly, some fans claimed the lipsticks were covered in fuzz.
"The product itself is unstable and not quality-tested in any way."
Following the backlash, Hill released both a video and an official statement on her website
saying she would be issuing a full refund to anyone who made a purchase, but she reassured
customers that the issue was in the manufacturing and had nothing to do with product quality.
Tati Westbrook and James Charles are both huge names in the YouTube beauty community,
Westbrook's channel has nearly 10 million followers as of August 2019, while Charles'
boasts 15 million. For a time, the two were best friends, with Westbrook acting as a sort
of mentor to Charles.
In April 2019, Charles posted an Instagram story promoting Sugar Bear Hair vitamins,
which happens to be in direct competition with Westbrook's company, Halo Beauty. As
reported by People, Westbrook posted a since-deleted 43-minute video titled "Bye Sister," in which
she slammed Charles for both his alleged betrayal and change in attitude since finding fame.
That May, People reported that Charles posted his own since-deleted apology video in response
to Westbrook. Soon after, he released a bombshell 41-minute video titled "No More Lies" in which
the star claimed he wasn't erasing the sentiment of his first apology, however, his answer
to "BYE SISTER" was essentially a point-by-point rebuttal of Westbrook's video.
In November 2018, James Charles released his first eyeshadow palette for Morphe comprising
of 39 rainbow colored shades and including eyeshadows and pressed pigments. In his original
swatch video, Charles explained that at first he didn't know the difference between eyeshadows
and pressed pigments.
"As an artist, I will say straight up to you guys, some of these pressed pigments are a
little bit harder to work with just because you have to use slightly different techniques."
Charles went on to give advice on how best to apply the different formulas in the palette,
but his video came under some scrutiny when it appeared as though he had faked or re-layered
his swatches. On Twitter, users called him out, but Charles was quick to reply. Responding
to a tweet asking if the shadows had been, quote, "pre-swatched" in the video, he said,
"Yes, a few shades I layered twice because the first swatch wasn't good or because I
had to [re- say] my sentence and wasn't going to continue washing my arm, or that would
REALLY mess them up. Not hiding anything."
Aside from his public friend-split with Tati Westbrook and his questionable swatching behavior,
James Charles has repeatedly found himself in the spotlight on account of his social
media practices. In 2017, Charles stirred up the wrath of the internet when, according
to Allure, he tweeted,
"I can't believe we're going to Africa today omg what if we get Ebola."
The vlogger soon apologized, but that was only the beginning of his trouble.
In 2019, Charles did a collaboration video during which he implied that he wasn't, quote,
"full gay" because he had been attracted to trans men in the past. Understandably, that
didn't go over well at all, and he took to Twitter to apologize. But he'd soon make headlines
again, this time because he allegedly tried to hit on a taken straight man.
When Cosmopolitan reported on the YouTube beauty drama with Westbrook in May 2019, it
referenced a since-deleted tweet from popstar Zara Larsson that accused Charles of trying
to flirt with her boyfriend online. When Charles explained that he hadn't known the man was
taken, and pointed out that Larsson herself had also hit on her model boyfriend online
before they were dating, Larsson deleted her original tweet and issued an apology.
Ever since Jeffree Star launched his YouTube channel in 2006, the YouTube beauty guru has
been something of a magnet for drama. But nothing would quite compare to the backlash
he faced in 2017, when decade-old videos surfaced of the beautuber making racist comments.
In June, Star posted the video "RACISM" to his channel, in which he addressed his old
comments and explained that he didn't know any better at the time.
"It really makes me sick to my stomach to watch those old videos because what I was
saying is not what I represent."
Star spoke with Allure at the time and told the magazine that he was sad to see his work
discredited because of the things he'd said in the past, which he said were done just
to get a reaction. He told the publication,
"You see one moment and it's literally when I'm 19-years-old. I'm 31 now and I look back
at this and I think it's so sad that I spoke like that. I'm just tired of being accused
of something I'm not."
"I owe you the truth, and I owe you an apology. I am so sorry for my words. I am so sorry
for everything that I've said in my past."
Jeffree Star and Kat Von D's friendship spanned an entire decade before Von D seemed to end
things out of nowhere in July 2016, when she posted a now-deleted Instagram photo of Star
with his face crossed out. According to Refinery29, she captioned it,
"After years of making excuses for, and rationalizing Jeffree's inappropriate behavior (including
promoting drug use, racism, and bullying) I can no longer hold my tongue after recent
events."
Von D then posted the video "Jeffree Star: It's so much easier to do the right thing,"
which criticized the vlogger. She took issue with the circumstances under which Star launched
his own cosmetics line, which she claimed were due in large part to her connections.
One connection allegedly included designer BJ Betts, whom Von D said was never paid for
the work he did for Star.
Star responded with his own video called "DEAR KAT VON D: IT’S EASIER TO TELL THE TRUTH,"
saying that things had progressed, quote, "past the point of just internet drama" and
claiming his family was being threatened. Star said that things first broke down with
Von D when she pulled out of investing in his brand, but he was adamant that Betts had
been compensated.
In 2007, Kat Von D left TLC's Miami Ink and went on to star in her own California-based
series, LA Ink. According to TMZ, an autographed photo of Von D was delivered to her former
boss that was signed with an anti-Semetic image. Von D released a statement at the time
denying the photo's legitimacy, and said,
"This was already proven many months ago to be 100 percent untrue. I always have been,
and will continue to be an advocate for tolerance of all races, religions and ways of life."
"Just to set the record straight from the beginning, I wanna say that I am not anti-Semetic."
Von D's issues seemed to end there, until 2018, when according to Revelist, her beauty
brand posted a now-deleted Instagram image that many found to have racial undertones.
In 2019, Von D took to her YouTube to denounce the claims dating back to 2008, which she
said were the result of fear that LA Ink would replace Miami Ink.
In June 2018, Kat Von D found herself on one side of a heated debate regarding child vaccinations
when she posted a since-deleted photo on Instagram detailing her "pregnancy journey." BuzzFeed
originally reported the post, which was captioned,
"Try being an openly pregnant vegan on Instagram, having a natural, drug-free home birth in
water with a midwife and doula, who has the intention of raising a vegan child, without
vaccinations."
Finally, in March 2019, Von D posted a response video to her YouTube in which she flat-out
denied being an "anti-vaxxer."
"I am not an anti-vaxxer. What I am is a first time mother."
She went on to say that she experienced, quote, "some hesitancy" after her initial research
on vaccine ingredients. Von D finished by explaining that she and her husband would
be taking the advice of their pediatrician and that she had learned her lesson.
"I am choosing not to make our decision, or any of our baby's health records public, and
I just wanna thank you guys for respecting that."
In August 2018, YouTuber and Makeup Geek founder Marlena Stell dropped a beauty bombshell on
her channel, calling out the entire online beauty community for alleged shady behind-the-scenes
behavior.
"I feel like I have a unique advantage, I'm not only a brand owner now, but I've been
an influencer for the last ten years."
In the video, titled "My truth regarding the beauty community," Stell explained that Makeup
Geek hasn't been featured in the beautuber community in large part because it's refused
to pay the $60,000 price tag required to get a shoutout.
"I feel like I can take kind of a neutral side and say I think both parties are part
of the problem that has happened in the beauty community right now, and I think it's really
sad."
Makeup artist Kevin Bennett immediately came to Stell's defense and backed up her claims
with an Instagram post that outlined the price list that one, quote, "top-level beauty influencer"
gave him. It included a $75,000 to $85,000 dedicated negative review of a competitor's
product, of which Bennett said,
"Yes, option #3 is legit, payment to damage the competition's business."
Marlena Stell wasn't done with the YouTube beauty community when she posted her "My truth"
video in 2018. In June 2019, Stell released "Dear Influencers," an hour and a half-long
video that outlined her decade-long drama within the YouTube beauty community.
"I'm sorry to be so blunt. I feel like my honesty and integrity that I valued so much
and tried so hard for 11 years to keep with you guys has been dragged to filth, honestly."
Stell went on to address the Jaclyn Hill lipstick scandal, surmising that Hill had gone to a
lab that Stell's company had previously passed over on account of its lack of sanitary practices.
Newsweek reported in late June that Hill had deleted the entirety of her social media accounts
due to the backlash she received following Stell's video. Hill's final tweet reportedly
said,
"I deleted [my account] because I immediately got hateful comments and although everything
I stated is 1,000 percent true, I need to protect my mental state [first] and foremost."
When the Dramageddon of beauty YouTubers hit in 2018, one of its biggest casualties was
Laura Lee, who had a racist tweet from 2012 resurface with disastrous results.
According to Buzzfeed News, Lee issued a now-deleted apology video on her YouTube page, but it
didn't seem to go over quite the way she had expected. Responses were numerous and immediate,
with people calling Lee out for allegedly being disingenuous and trying to distance
herself from her own actions. YouTuber Ready to Glare posted a response to the original
video and said:
"Whether the tweets were retweeted or tweeted originally by you, it doesn't really matter,
okay? Like, the intention of the tweet is the same."
Across the internet, Lee's apology became known as little more than a joke.
Huda Kattan is a beauty vlogger with a YouTube following of over 3 million people as of August
2019. She focuses mostly on D.I.Y. tutorials and beauty hacks, and, in 2013, she and her
sisters launched Huda Beauty with a collection of false eyelashes. The company has gone on
to create even more makeup products, including its Easy Bake Setting Powder, which caused
a stir in June 2018.
"Today I wanna talk to you guys about baking!"
Fans pointed out that it closely resembled a product line from a smaller company.
When Huda Beauty announced its Easy Bake line on Instagram, the reception was less than
warm, with commenters accusing the beautuber of stealing the idea from Beauty Bakerie Makeup,
a cruelty-free brand whose tagline is, quote, "better, not bitter." Comments ranged from
calling the line "familiar" to outright accusing Huda Beauty of theft.
In July 2018, Huda Beauty released an Instagram video that didn't quite address the accusations
but instead gave an inside look into the alleged "development process" for the campaign. For
its part, Beauty Bakerie posted its own response on Instagram, saying,
"Hey Sweets, Everyone's invited to the baking party, even Huda."
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