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Tati: I don't wish harm or hate on anyone.
And I just want to make that very, very clear.
I'm an imperfect person, and I do my best
To be caring kind and loving, and I screw up
Recently, Tati Westbrook uploaded a video where she spoke intimately
about how Jeffrey star and Shane Dawson manipulated her into uploading a video a year ago, where
she accused James Charles of being a sexual predator,
Tati: Cracking someone's sexuality is not an escape room.
Kat: Now I'll be totally honest,
Tati Westbrook has consistently been one of the few makeup YouTubers that I've had respect for.
She is definitely somebody who is very no nonsense about makeup.
And that's the kind of beauty influencer that I personally like to follow.
But I will say that I became a little concerned when I started to see Jeffrey stars lipsticks
in the background of her videos in my mind, Tati has always kind of been this unproblematic
YouTuber who is disconnected from the drama of the beauty community.
So I was a little disappointed when I saw her starting to become closer and closer to Jeffree Star
And unfortunately it seems that that has not worked out for her.
Now, in my previous video, I talked about the leeway that we give creators like Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson
Right?
And I also talk about the fact that we're going to see a redemption arc for Shane Dawson,
who in my opinion has definitely in comparison to Jeffree Star engaged in what I would say
is more extensive and more intense racism.
Now I set this in my Jeffree Star video, but I definitely believe that people can change.
I definitely believe that people, regardless of what they've done or what sort of ideologies
they have engaged in, I think that they do have the capacity to change, right?
This truth, right?
Does not contradict the fact that you don't need to be present for that person's growth.
You don't need to be there to congratulate them for no longer engaging in something like racism.
I think that it is very healthy for people to draw the boundary and say, you know what?
Maybe you can change.
Maybe you have the capacity to change, but I'm no longer going to be invested in you
as a person or as a creator.
I think that that is healthy.
And that's something that a lot of people don't tend to acknowledge.
When we talk about so-called cancel culture, that drawing lines between yourself and this
sort of content is healthy.
It's not weak of you to want to withdraw from the content that hurts you.
So she talks about a lot in this video and I'll be completely honest.
I don't think that she's completely owning up to everything, but that's not really what
I wanted to talk about.
I don't really want to talk about Shane or Jeffree Star in this video, even though we've
talked about them a couple of times on this channel, you guys can check out this last
video that I made about Shane Dawson.
If you guys want more of my perspective on this. What I wanted to focus on in this video
was Tati Westbrook's first public apology to Jackie Aina and kind of what it says about a lot
of friendships and relationships, a lot of white people and their black friends or acquaintances.
So I'm going to assume that a lot of you guys watching this have no clue about any of this stuff.
So we're going to go over really quickly, a timeline of events. A few years ago,
Jackie Aina made a statement during one of her antsy halls where she said that she would
not support Jeffree Star's , cosmetics, because she's aware of Jeffree Starr's anti-black history.
I am not buying Jeffree Star cosmetics, at least not anytime soon.
I'm not trying to make this open season on anybody just being very honest, but I just,
I just have a deep issue with the anti-black like comments and things that have been made publicly.
And this public statement got her blocked by Jeffree Star on Instagram.
Then if we fast forward a little bit David Scissorhands who is Jeffree Starr's, former
hairstylist and friend did Jackie Aina's hair.
And this obviously set off Jeffree Star.
Now this happened in 2017, but in 2018 David Scissorhands released text messages that
showed Jeffrey star referring to Jackie, Aina as a gorilla.
Back in 2017, Jeffree Star and Jackie Aina had a very public Twitter fallout
where Jeffree Star ultimately called Jackie Aina and irrelevant rat.
So I think it would be an understatement to say that they're not fond of each other.
Now around the time when they had their Twitter fallout, Tati Westbrook posted a collaboration
video with Jeffree Star.
In fact, in her apology, she references this and says that this should have been the moment
where she turned her back on Jeffree Star, but she didn't.
In fact, she would continue to have a relationship with him and would continue to make videos
promoting his products.
I wanted to make this video because I saw all of this happen and listening to Tati say
what she says about Jackie Aina
in this video was kind of hard because I had a hard time justifying how she could say
that she's always loved and supported Jackie, and has always had a positive relationship
with her and see how she could feel that way.
And also still maintain a relationship with Jeffree Star, somebody who is a known racist,
who has said, and done several things against Jackie Aina that had been clearly a little coded.
And the most that Jackie said was that she wasn't going to promote or support his products
because of his previous engagement with anti-blackness which again, going from my previous video
is a very healthy boundary for her to set.
When there are all of these makeup brands out there, why would you go and support the
makeup brand of somebody who has been outwardly and loudly racist, even if they've changed,
even if they've grown of all of the options you have, why Jeffree Star?
And what I wanted to talk about in this video was really how I think for black people drawing that line
is a little bit easier than it is for a lot of white people.
Tati: I got it twisted that you had provoked Jeffrey because you were angry that I had felt with
someone had a history of being labeled by others as a racist.
Jackie, I'm sorry that I did not do the right thing and walk away from him then.
Kat: Listening to Tati say this triggered a very familiar feeling to me, that feeling
of having a white friend who is hesitant to stand up for you
Now, contrary to popular belief, I don't personally believe that everywhite person is a racist.
But what I will say is that I believe pretty much every white person has a relationship
with a racist that is more valuable than any relationship they will ever have with a black person.
Now, before you get defensive, before you get defensive and say, Oh, no, no, no, not me.
Think about your racist family members.
Would you cut them off before you've cut off your black friend?
Think about your racist partners.
Some of you are sleeping with racists while posting black lives matter on your page.
Would you cut them off quicker than you would cut off your black friend?
Think about it, think about it.
I want you to really think critically about this, because this is something that I've observed.
People who are friends with me, who have no problem with me, but have these people in
their life who engage in racism, who they struggle to let go of.
And I've had these experiences where their friend is saying something racist.
And I say, Hey man, you're being racist.
And suddenly I'm the asshole.
Suddenly I'm the angry person.
Suddenly I'm the jerk for saying that this racist person who they care about is being racist.
Now, I've always had a really hard time understanding why someone would maintain a relationship
with somebody who hates the people that they love.
I don't get it.
I personally don't understand it, but for me, from my observation, it seems like it's
very, very hard for a white person to let go of a white person who they are friends
with, who they are sleeping with, who is part of their family who engages in racism.
Now, Jackie Aina, being a black woman saw Jeffree Star's racism.
And she still still held out space for him to potentially not be that person anymore.
And when he showed her that he indeed was still that person.
She drew a line in the sand.
In fact, she stopped associating with people who supported him.
She stopped working with brands who supported him.
She recently deactivated her code with Morphe because Morphe continues to support and work
with Jeffree Star and who these companies continue to support and work with definitely speaks volumes.
And that's what I really wanted to talk about in this video.
Look, you might not be racist.
Of course not.
You're one of the good ones, right?
But the relationships that you choose to maintain with the people who hurt the people, whom you
claim to support really does express where you stand.
Tati said in her video, that Jeffree Star was like a lion.
He was dangerous, but he was always nice to her.
And I found that to be really interesting.
"So yeah, maybe he's racist or whatever, but he's nice to me. Sooo... ."
[I have to laff]
There's just something about hearing that out loud that really cuts a little too deep.
Her saying that basically affirmed the point
that at the time, her relationship with Jeffree Star
was more important than her relationship with Jackie Aina, which frankly boggles my
mind because when it comes to aesthetics and you know, people who are in your sort of realm
of makeup, Jackie Aina and Tati Westbrook are obviously in the same category.
They do a very similar type of makeup for a very similar type of girl and Jeffree Star
is just so outside of the, of the aesthetic realm that it's strange to me that she wouldn't
want to foster a productive, healthy relationship with Jackie Aina, who is clearly way more
in her realm, but let's be honest for a second.
Jeffree Star can do more for Tati Westbrook than Jackie Aina ever could.
Jeffree Star is mega rich.
He's mega famous.
He's got 18 million subscribers on YouTube. A relationship with Jeffree Star is more
beneficial to Tati Westbrook than it would have been for her to maintain a relationship
with Jackie Aina
While Jackie Aina is a powerhouse in her own, right?
She doesn't quite have the same amount of reach or power as Jeffree Star.
Now it shouldn't surprise you that as a black girl who wears makeup,
that I am a huge Jackie Aina stan
And one of the things that I've always appreciated about Jackie Aina is how she holds onto her faith.
Now, I'm an atheist.
I don't believe that any of it,
but I've always respected the fact that in a time where
being religious is becoming less and less popular, that Jackie Aina stuck to her guns,
that she still puts Bible verses in the descriptions of her videos.
And sometimes even in the videos that she's always held onto God and always been a religious person.
I think that's beautiful, even if I don't believe it.
Part of holding onto your faith is doing what is unpopular
because it's godly.
It's remaining steadfast and your walk with God while everyone around you sins.
It's having... integrity.
And what's clear to me while watching Tati Westbrook's video is that she
greatly
lacks
integrity.
Now in her video, Tati Westbrook says that she is a woman of faith.
So I wanted to read her a Bible verse.
1 Timothy 6:10 says for the love of money is the root of all evil.
While some coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through many sorrows
Tati valued money over integrity.
And that's why she maintained a relationship with Jeffree Star, somebody who screams ungodliness
and unrepentant sin.
Of course it is the Christian thing to do to see the best in others.
But I think it's important to point out that Tati Westbrook did more than just try to
see the best and Jeffrey and try to make him a role model and et cetera, et cetera.
She suspended her disbelief to the point where she looked at his racism and gave him so much
more support than she's ever given Jackie Aina
If you go to her channel right now, you will not find a single time where
she has supported anything that Jackie Aina has put out in terms of makeup.
She's reviewed pretty much every Anastasia Beverly Hills pallet except for hers.
But meanwhile, there are several, several videos of her supporting Jeffree Star's product releases
, and those videos are still available for you to watch right now on her channel,
even though she just made an apology video saying that Jeffree Star manipulated her.
Tati Westbrook tries to really minimize her relationship with Jeffree Star and her video by saying
that they weren't even close like that.
But even still, she still went out of her way to promote his products.
And I think that it's worth talking about why that is, why the racism wasn't enough.
I think it says a lot that the accusations of racism weren't enough to talk to Westbrook
to be like, yeah, no, I don't need to work with that person.
I think that there was so much suspension of disbelief, so much leeway, so much consideration.
And it's a degree of consideration that Jackie Aina wasn't given at all.
Jackie Ida was just dismissed as some angry bitter black girl who was mad that she didn't
have as many subscribers or wasn't as loved as Jeffree Star was.
But Jeffree Star could go into the middle of the street and say heinously racist things
and get just an endless amount of support, concern and consideration.
Four months ago, Jackie Aina did what Tati Westbrook didn't do.
And she supported her release, Jackie Aina made a video, reviewing totsy Westbrook's new palette
and her makeup sponge.
And she gave it a raving review.
Jackie: Tati reached out to me and said some really heartfelt things and really truly
made me feel like she was sincere and trying to start over and mend something with me.
And I really appreciated that.
Tati, I'm not going to put all of that out there,but I thought that was worth mentioning.
Kat: It'll always be interesting and depressing to me that people will sooner defend a racist reputation.
Then they will stand up against racism.
What I ultimately wanted to communicate in this video is that your black friends see
you do this.
You know, you may think that your black friend, you know, just doesn't notice you bending
over backwards to justify your relationship with a racist, but we see it.
And the more we see it in the more you do it, the less we trust you.
Personally, I don't
have racist or transphobic or misogynistic or homophobic or any kind of phobic friends
because life is too short.
My patients is too thin and my integrity is too important to me.
I really hope that Tati continues to grow.
I think that she is.
I think that the video while it definitely is a lot of her not being fully culpable to
everything, I definitely think that it is a step in the right direction.
I think that she is taking more and more accountability and that is great.
I love that she is acknowledging how her actions have negatively impacted others.
I hope that she continues to move forward in a positive direction and as time goes on,
she can become a more and more trustworthy friend.
Anyway, that is all I have to say about this.
If you guys want to watch any of my other videos about this subject, I will have a handy
dandy little playlist over there.
Cause I honestly I've made so many videos about these people that I might as well have
a playlist at this point.
So there you go.
Anyway, I'll see you guys the next video. Bye.