Kat Von D has never been one to shy away from controversy, but it's hard to tell whether
the makeup mogul loves the drama, or if the drama loves her.
Either way, it's a marriage she can't escape.
Through cheating scandals with award-winning actors and never-ending online feuds with
fellow makeup stars, Von D has managed to throw more shade than one of her best-selling
eyeshadow palettes.
She's the kind of celebrity that always leaves us wondering what spectacularly odd situation
she’ll find herself in next.
Here’s the shady truth about your favorite tattooed star.
Competition and cancellation
Kat Von D got her big break when she appeared on TLC's Miami Ink.
But after an alleged falling out with fellow shop workers in 2007, she opened High Voltage
Tattoo in West Hollywood and became the subject of her own spinoff, LA Ink.
The move to High Voltage seemed like an effort to squash drama among her Miami Ink coworkers,
but it may have actually been pretty shady.
According to a tattoo artist who worked with the star before she became famous, Von D opened
High Voltage Tattoo just one mile away from the small tattoo shop where she got her start,
threatening their business.
LA Ink was cancelled after four seasons, though Von D claimed that it was her idea to end
the show.
A now-deleted tweet from the star read,
“I love how me deciding not to continue doing LA Ink turns into [the show] being 'cancelled.’”
“I could fail, ya know?
I don’t want to fail.
Nobody does, you know?”
Giving makeup a bad name
Being a magnet for controversy, Kat Von D shocked the masses in 2015 when she launched
a new shade of lipstick called "Underage Red."
Immediately, critics slammed the brand for its inappropriate connotations.
Von D responded to the criticism with a rambling Facebook post defending her decision saying
that the bold red reminded her of a lipstick she wore when she was 16, and said she "will
never apologize" for how she decides to name her products, noting that the shade was sold
out despite the controversy.
This wasn't the first time Von D stirred up drama with her lipstick labels.
In 2013, a Von D shade named "Celebutard" was pulled from Sephora stores after customers
complained about it mocking the disabled.
Though Sephora immediately apologized to customers, Von D seemed to have a hard time swallowing
her pride.
In another lengthy rant posted to Facebook, the star wrote,
“Even though I made a mistake in naming a lipstick ‘Celebutard’ I know what my
real intentions were.”
Kat Von D vs. Jeffree Star
The feud between Kat Von D and Jeffree Star is basically the Taylor Swift-Kanye West beef
of the makeup world.
It won't go away, and no one comes out looking that great, no matter the amount of makeup
they apply.
The drama erupted in 2016 when Von D announced she was parting ways with Star, accusing him
of promoting drug use, racism, and bullying.
Von D even went on to take credit for launching Star’s wildly successful career, claiming
Star wouldn’t be where he was without her.
“The only reason he even got that meeting was because I vouched for him.”
Logo stealing accusations
After Von D took credit for launching Star’s brand and accused him of online bullying,
she dropped a major bomb: Star had stolen his company’s logo from designer BJ Betts.
However, it seemed Von D pointed fingers before doing her research.
In his own response video, Star admitted that he’d hired Betts to get ideas churning for
a new logo, but decided not to move forward with the designer because he couldn’t afford
him at that point in his career.
What Von D didn’t realize was that Star had already been in talks with Betts’ team
about paying the designer and tattoo artist for his help in sparking ideas for Star’s
logo.
Star explained,
"Now that my brand is successful, I wanted to take care of somebody who was work for
hire and that had helped me in the beginning and inspired something.”
Behind the palette
If Jeffree Star is to be believed, Kat Von D has her own shady situation with BJ Betts.
Since launching her makeup brand in 2008, Von D has touted the fact that she's designed
all of the artwork featured on her makeup products.
But according to Star, BJ Betts deserves serious credit for his work on some of Von D’s products.
“I know Kat has always said she does all of her artwork for all of her packaging, but
BJ has done lettering for some of her palettes."
Though Von D has admitted that Betts contributed graphics to some of her YouTube videos, she
hasn't commented on him designing parts of her packaging.
The rebound girl
In 2010, the world learned that Jesse James had the audacity to cheat on Oscar-winner
Sandra Bullock.
The Miss Congeniality star subsequently ended their five-year marriage and became a single
mother to the couple’s then-three-month-old son.
James wasted no time in moving on to Kat Von D in some sort of whirlwind rebound.
Less than a year after his divorce was finalized, James was engaged to Von D, and the couple
was flaunting their relationship all over social media.
Despite James's history of infidelity, Kat Von D dived head first into her engagement.
However, in a surprise to virtually no one, Von D called off the engagement six months
after it was first announced.
Unfortunately, this was after she got a rather ill-advised tattoo of his face.
Von D claimed the motorcycle mogul had cheated on her with at least 19 different women in
a lengthy Facebook post titled "Thank You, Jesse James."
In the post, Von D wrote,
“Today, I encountered the 19th girl to add to the list of people Jesse cheated on me
with during this last year."
She also admitted that she was tired of "getting mistaken" for the person who broke up James'
marriage to Bullock.
Though James didn't comment on the claims, a source close to the star told People magazine
they were ridiculous.
Once a cheater, always a cheater, right, Kat?
“I remember the first time somebody asked me that like 'aren't you worried he's gonna
do the same thing?'
And I'm like thinking going, why would I worry about that?”
Deadmau5 drama
Not only was Kat Von D allegedly cheated on by former fiancé Jesse James, she also claimed
to have been cheated on by her one-time fiancé Deadmau5.
About a year after breaking things off with James, the DJ proposed to the star on Twitter
with a picture of the ring, and Von D said yes.
Unfortunately for the happy couple, their engagement would end just as it had begun,
on Twitter, where Von D tweeted about dumping Deadmau5 after he cheated on her.
Deadmau5 took to Facebook to refute her claims, saying he had only been with another woman
while the pair were broken up.
Cheating hypocrisy
Though Kat Von D has accused multiple ex-flames of cheating, she’s never admitted to any
wrongdoing on her part.
But her ex-husband, Oliver Peck, has a thing or two to say about that.
Peck, who was married to Von D from 2003 to 2007, told In Touch magazine that the reality
star consistently ruins her personal relationships, accusing her of cheating on him throughout
their marriage.
Peck also claimed his former wife changed after finding fame, allegedly drinking so
much every day that she would throw up.
If Peck is to be believed, Von D is a hypocrite.
If he’s not, she's still got some pretty horrible taste in men.
No Trumps allowed
Kat Von D has been pretty vocal about not being able to stand President Donald Trump
- enough to disqualify an Instagram contest winner over their political views.
In 2017, Von D’s beauty brand sponsored an Instagram competition with a grand prize
including an all-expenses-paid trip to Von D’s Saint and Sinner party and a $500 Sephora
gift card.
Makeup artist Gypsy Freeman was chosen as the winner, but there was just one problem:
Freeman was a Trump supporter.
According to the Kansas City Star, Freeman received a direct message from Von D, saying,
"I just need you to know that I personally have a hard time with inviting anyone who
would support such an anti-feminist, anti-homosexual/LGBT, anti-immigrant, and anti-climate change fascist
such as Trump.”
Freeman ended up not attending the party, and all evidence of the contest was scrubbed
from Kat Von D’s social media accounts.
Romanticizing mental illness
Kat Von D broke down gender barriers in early 2018 when she announced her collaboration
with Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong.
The punk rocker and eyeliner enthusiast launched a limited edition eyeliner through Kat Von
D Beauty and named it after Green Day’s iconic song "Basket Case."
Unfortunately, the Basket Case Anti-Precision liner caused a stir because of an interesting
creative choice in branding.
“I had the idea of doing a photoshoot with Billie Joe where we kind of, like, pay homage
to this old poster that I used to have as a kid”
Von D and Armstrong channeled an iconic photo of punk rocker Sid Vicious and his girlfriend
Nancy Spungen in their promotional images, a move that didn't sit well for a number of
beauty fans.
Vicious and Spungen had a famously dark relationship that was marred with domestic violence and
mental illness, ending with Spungen's mysterious murder and Vicious’ infamous overdose.
When fans accused Von D of romanticizing domestic violence and mental illness, the star responded
on social media by claiming critics were "nitpicking a campaign that has nothing to do with mental
illness.”