While Jeffree Star is one of the most prominent YouTubers in the world, the makeup industry giant has been in the middle of a myriad of controversies and scandals due to his comments and products.Jeffree Star began experimenting with makeup from a young age. He would often wear his mother’s makeup products to high school. He moved from Orange County to Hollywood in pursuit of becoming a model. Star also showcased his interest in music and uploaded his songs on MySpace. As his music and cosmetic career began to blow up in 2014, he launched Jeffree Star Cosmetics the same year. The YouTuber has established a beauty empire grossing over $100 million yearly. Star is not only known for his makeup skills but also for being in a series of controversies through his social media and alleged accusations. From his infamous alleged affair with Kanye West to his controversial makeup line, let's look at the most significant controversies and scandals of Jeffree Star.
10 The Alleged Relationship With Kanye West
When TikTok personality Ava Louise released a rumor in early 2021 that Kanye West was having an affair with a male beauty guru, the internet concluded it to be Jeffree Star. The news made people look for clues about their alleged relationship, and Star had to release a video to debunk the rumor.
9 The Shane Dawson Makeup Collection Collab
While Shane Dawson was one of the most popular YouTubers, he has been under fire for making racial and pedophilic comments on his platforms. As YouTube had suspended monetization from his channels, Jeffree Star faced backlash in 2021 when he launched a makeup collaboration with Dawson, which lost sales when the products were put on clearance shelves at stores.
8 The Anna Nicole Smith Lawsuit
Anna Nicole Smith was a notable playboy model who passed away in 2007. In 2020, Star launched a makeup line that sold Anna Nicole Smith lipstick in the shade of Smith’s signature red color. The late model’s estate filed a lawsuit against Star, accusing him of using her as an advertising tactic without giving a share of the profit or asking prior permission.
7 The S*xual Assault Allegations Against Him
There are a series of accusations made against Jeffree Star from the early 2000s that have come to light only recently. When he was a MySpace celebrity, the YouTuber allegedly groped men who were a part of the inner circle and tasered others who didn’t respond to his advances. He was also accused of paying men to date him.
6 The Rift With A Fan On Twitter
In February 2019, Jeffree Star tweeted his congratulations to a person who announced their new job at Ulta Beauty, his retail partner. When a fan of his tried to promote his work using Star’s products, the YouTuber blasted him for making it about himself. The tweets upset the fan who had used Star’s products for years. Star received backlash for being rude behavior.
5 The Feud With Huda Kattan
In July 2018, Star came after makeup giant Huda Beauty and accused the founder Huda Kattan of stealing a setting powder concept from an indie brand. He also got heat after uploading Instagram screenshots of his private conversations with Kattan before deleting them. He has also taken to Twitter to badmouth the brand on other makeup artists’ posts about Huda.
4 The Alleged Manipulation Of Tati Westbrook
The beauty community witnessed its biggest drama in 2019 when Tati Westbrook released a YouTube video titled ‘Bye Sister,’ taking a dig at her then-friend James Charles. The drama began after Charles promoted a makeup line that was a competitor of Westbrook’s. In 2020, Westbrook accused Star and Shane Dawson of gaslighting her into creating the video due to their dislike for Charles.
3 The Video About BLM Protests
When the James Charles drama was brewing on the internet, the world witnessed support for the Black Lives Matter movement after the deaths of Elijah McClain and George Floyd in 2020. Jeffree Star uploaded a video wherein he spoke about the BLM Movement for the first 38 seconds before he spoke about his cosmetics brand for ten minutes. He was accused of using tragic deaths to dodge the accusations against him regarding the Tati Westbrook-James Charles drama.
2 The Questionable Titles Of His Products
In another mishap regarding his makeup line, Jeffree Star had to address a massive backlash after the launch of his makeup line, the Cremated Collection, in 2020. His gray-scale palette had death-related titles that looked like a mockumentary during the raging pandemic when millions of people were dying. Some of the titles were ‘Casket Ready,’ ‘Pallbearer,’ and ‘Death Certificate.’
1 The Comments About Jackie Aina
Cosmetic industry giant Jackie Aina has also been an advocate for women of color in the beauty industry, and she took to social media to address an open letter to Jeffree Star. In the letter, Aina detailed that she won’t overlook Star’s racist behavior as he used derogatory terms for people of color and even used the n-word on multiple occasions.
Jeffree Star also found himself under heat after his Blood Money palette dropped when fans felt the shades to be inauthentic to his true self. The makeup mogul has earned the title of one of the most talked-about celebs in the industry but continues to grow his brand through solid product sales.