Jeffree Star Comes Under Fire For Velvet Trap Lipstick — A Look Back At All His Past Scandals
Some fans are really not happy with Jeffree Star over his recently announced Velvet Trap lipstick. Yep, the YouTube star
Lillie Gissen
Some fans are really not happy with Jeffree Star over his recently announced Velvet Trap lipstick. Yep, the YouTube star just revealed that he has a brand new set of makeup products in the works, but when the promotional images for the new items showed women of color sitting in a mouse trap, people started to slam him online.
To make things even worse, some of his followers pointed out that the makeup mogul allegedly referred to beauty influencers Jackie Aina and MakeupShayla as “rats” in the past.
“Hey, it’s super weird to use imagery of a black woman in a rodent trap especially when you have a history of calling black women rats but like every other terrible thing you do, this will inevitably be forgotten until the next launch,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
Hey it’s super weird to use imagery of a black woman in a rodent trap especially when you have a history of calling black women rats but like every other terrible thing you do, this will inevitably be forgotten until the next launch.
— makeupbyamandalynn (@MUbyamandalynn) October 14, 2020
It turns out, this isn’t the first time Star has received backlash online for his actions. He’s actually been involved in a lot of drama over the years, and we decided to round up his most talked about scandals.
Star Has Been Accused Of Racist Behavior In The Past
After he allegedly called her a rat, Aina called Star out for his “racist behavior” on Twitter.
“I have not and will not excuse his blatantly racist behavior and — not his past references to me in derogatory terms, his use of the N word nor his efforts to eliminate spaces and opportunities for people of color,” she wrote. “No one in the community should feel like they are protected enough to continuously say things to make black women feel ugly and ashamed in their own skin.”
. @jeffreestar pic.twitter.com/5VUyCzfMf4
— Naira Banks (@jackieaina) September 29, 2018
Social Media star Kameron Lester also accused Star of treating him like “the token Black kid” during an Instagram Live. Plus, the beauty guru’s former friend Tab posted a video where he claimed that Star used derogatory terms. Then, Star seemingly responded to both of their accusations via his Instagram Stories, and he claimed that they were all “lies.”
“I’m not going to entertain people that want clout and attention and followers. When I leave on a really good note with someone and our last texts are all positive and great and then months later they make up a bunch of s**t about me on camera… No,” he said. “We’re not going to entertain it, we’re not going to feed into the negativity, we’re not going to give an ounce of f**ks to these people who are literally making up s**t out of thin air.”
Tati Westbrook Claimed Jeffree Star ‘Manipulated’ Her
In June 2020, many people were left shook when Tati Westbrook posted a tell-all video addressing her longtime feud with James Charles. For those who missed it, one year earlier, she had posted another video where she called Charles out for being a bad friend. But in the new vlog, Westbrook claimed that Star and Shane Dawson “manipulated” her into turning on Charles.
“I made [the video] because of all the poisonous lies that were fed to me by Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star,” she said. “I should have known better than to fall for their lies and manipulation but in the end I failed and, instead, I allowed Shane and Jeffree to put a wedge between our friendship.”
After her admission, Morphe announced that they were no longer going to work with Star. He didn’t address her accusations online, but Dawson did respond in a video of his own, and claimed that they were all “lies.”
Fans Were Not Here For The Name Of His Cremated Palette
When Star dropped his Cremated makeup palette in May 2020, many fans thought the name was offensive amid the coronavirus pandemic. But he defended the release, explaining in a YouTube video, “For me, this is art and I never come from a negative place, you guys. So if you were thinking that, absolutely not. My brand is to, like, I created this to make people smile. I create a brand for all the weirdos and people that really didn’t feel like they fit in. So, in no way was this created to be offensive, ever.”
He also explained that he had picked the name long before the outbreak, and that it was a word he used with his friends when they were “mesmerized” by something.
Kat Von D Said Star Stole Her Artwork
In July 2016, Kat Von D posted a YouTube video where she accused Star of stealing her artwork for his makeup brand. Then, two years later, he clapped back and called her out for selling a liquid lipstick shade called “Jeffree.”
“The fact that you are the face of the brand and your names on the packaging and you couldn’t even get my shade taken down… Can’t relate. I own my own company,” he said in a YouTube video.
Old Offensive Photos That He Posted In 2004 Resurfaced Online
In June 2020, the beauty guru issued a public apology after old “offensive” and “derogatory” photos that he had posted in 2004 resurfaced online. Star described one of the pictures as a “VERY graphic photo of me cutting and bleeding.”
“It was offensive, derogatory and for shock value. It does not reflect who I am today or what I stand for or have EVER stood for,” he wrote in a statement on Twitter. “I will always be deeply sorry to anyone who had to see that and will continue to be sorry for all the dumb vile s**t I’ve said in my past.”
He continued, “I will always agree with canceling the Jeffree from 10-15 years old. That person is long gone. But I’m also extremely proud of owning an inclusive makeup brand where I celebrate all races and genders. I won’t let me past overshadow who I am today and will always use my platform to spread awareness and only show inclusivity. I want to apologize and say sorry again to anyone who I offended with my past actions. I will always be sorry.”
Jeffree Was Accused Of Lying About His 2019 Robbery
Star made headlines in 2019 when he revealed that his warehouse had been robbed of $2.5 million worth of products. But when an alleged police report surfaced online one year later and it seemingly showed a different amount of money that he lost, fans accused him of lying about it.
Twitter user Good Citizen Records shared a screenshot of the alleged LAPD public record, and it showed the “total value of the theft was $10,000, with an additional $30,000 in physical damages.” But Star later denied the claims in a YouTube video.
“There’s someone that tried to say that there’s a police report from Jeffree Star Cosmetics, that our warehouse and our robber, that we only had $10,000 of things lost. It’s all so silly, but people run with things and I get it, this is what 2020 is about. A lot of people are bored and miserable, and just want to make up s**t all day. I’m used to it,” he told his viewers. “It’s just shocking the levels of things people are believing now. I’m like, you guys, there was 30,000 units of just concealer stolen, and so many other things. It was so horrifying and awful and scary. So for someone to try and minimize it like it’s a hoax, I was like… Sadly my robbery was real, no matter what anyone wants to say. That was over a year ago and I can’t believe that was even brought up again.”
Gage Arthur Claimed Jeffree Star Sexually Assaulted Him
Insider reported in October 2020 that a young star named Gage Arthurclaimed he was sexually assaulted by Star.
“On November 11, 2009, Arthur and Star went to see a movie with two friends. During the film, Arthur said, Star tried to hold his hand, but Arthur resisted. According to Arthur, Star attacked him with a taser in the theater parking lot after the movie in retaliation. That night, Arthur told Insider, Star gave him Ambien pills until he was intoxicated, then performed nonconsensual oral sex on him,” the report reads.
A sound production engineer named Britain Strah also accused Star of “groping” him.
“Strah said he was wearing Spandex shorts that night. Strah said the venue’s owner introduced him to Star and made a comment to Star about the shorts that Strah was wearing, after which Strah said Star reached down and groped his genitals,” it continued.
“I was just kind of shocked,’ Strah told Insider. “After a while it dawned on me that it was pretty f**ked up. When the ‘Me Too’ stuff started happening, all these things that seemed to be smaller transgressions were coming out, and I was like ‘Woah, wait a second, I was assaulted.’ It had never really clicked.”
Star’s attorney reportedly denied the allegations.