Jeffree Star under fire for BLM comments in James Charles apology video
YouTube: Jeffree StarAfter Jeffree Star posted his 10-minute apology video in the wake of his ongoing drama with fellow beauty YouTuber James Charles, he has received backlash for some of his comments, particularly around the BLM movement.
James Charles’ drama with Star dates back over a year, after a feud picked up involving himself, Tati Westbrook, Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson.
It was alleged by Tati that she had been fed rumors about Charles by Dawson and Star, resulting in the ensuing drama. Shane and Jeffree have now both apologized in separate videos, with the latter’s released on July 18.
Shane Dawson, TwitterBut, during the apology, Star made reference to Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, and the murder of “black/trans” people in America.
This mention of the Black Lives Matter movement quickly drew the ire of social media users, who argued it was inappropriate to reference these issues in a video about a beauty YouTuber drama.
“Jeffree Star bringing up BLM and the injustices in the black/trans community in his video is the grossest form of manipulation and deflection I’ve ever seen,” wrote @AHumanPear in a now-viral tweet.
Jeffree Star bringing up blm and the injustices in the black/trans community in his video is the grossest form of manipulation and deflection I’ve ever seen.
It’s a trend.
The energy is very much
“Let me add this so they know I’m not a racist.”#jeffreestar #doingwhatsright pic.twitter.com/jd1uXOG6HA— Nari (@Somniariii) July 18, 2020
This was followed up by countless other Twitter users making similar complaints about Star’s apology video. Some also noted that Star had disabled comments on the video, meaning social media was the only place to share their criticism.
Jeffree star mentioning black lives matter pissed me off in a different way. That shit was so manipulative and conniving. He didn't link one resource but used black people YET AGAIN as a token. But I do see he turned those comments off because people were seeing through his BS.
— TheSoreIka (@TheSoreIka) July 19, 2020
jeffree star really said “sorry james… BLACK LIVES MATTER!!!! i used to be homeless 😔 now i’m successful… MY MAKEUP IS THE BEST BECAUSE IT IS INCLUSIVE!!! i’m focusing only on myself 🥰🥰” pic.twitter.com/gchbxXS1nS
— tobi (@helpwantedsigns) July 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/basjl3/status/1284647321439854593
YouTuber D’Angelo Wallace accused Jeffree Star of ‘hijack-tivism’ for his inclusion of BLM issues in the video, saying it was used “as a distraction from his makeup YouTube drama.”
https://twitter.com/dangelno/status/1284663846570020864
This wasn’t the only criticism leveled at the apology video either. Others also highlighted that Star had used a significant portion of the video to talk about his Jeffree Star Cosmetics products, as well as ‘posing’ for the thumbnail.
https://twitter.com/heyitsshawday/status/1284652811834155008
https://twitter.com/emaanmian/status/1284633519084441600
Fans are eagerly anticipating a response from James Charles himself, though it may not be forthcoming. The YouTuber, who recently hit 20 million subscribers, has been reluctant to address the reignited drama.
When paparazzi caught up with him in public, he refused to speak on either Shane Dawson or Jeffree Star, but did make comment about the negatives of “cancel culture.”
Meanwhile, it has reflected very poorly on Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson, who have both lost hundreds of thousands of subscribers on their channels.