Jeffree Star, a well-known beauty YouTuber, has gotten into hot water after uploading a product review of a new foundation from a Black-owned brand.
In the video, Star — with over 11 million IG followers and 13 million YouTube subscribers — positively reviewed Juvia's Place's new foundation, concealer, and setting powder. However, Twitter was confused about why he was providing a product review for a Black brand given his racist past.
View this video on YouTube
"For an indie brand that has just come on the market with their first ever foundation, they're killing it, let's just say that right now," he said in the video about the foundation. "If you wanna try something that's very full coverage this year, or you want to look sickening all summer and look like a doll then try it out and let me know how you feel. I'm throughly impressed."
For context, Star has previously been called out and canceled by other beauty YouTubers, like Jackie Aina, for his past racist behavior and commentary. Although he publicly apologized, Jackie said she would not "excuse [Star's] past references to [her] in derogatory terms, his continued use of the N word, nor his efforts to eliminate spaces and opportunities for people of color."
. @jeffreestar
Juvia's Place THEN suffered backlash after shouting out Star in a now-deleted Instagram post. The caption read: "We're speechless. Shade Cairo in I Am Magic Foundation. Jeffree found his match in @ultabeauty. Did you find your match? Comment bellow. Thank you @jeffreestar."
People, especially Black consumers, had questions about the loyalty of the Black-owned brand to its own community when they publicly supported such a polarizing figure:
Is it a trend among black businesses to say FUCK BLACK CONSUMERS upon reaching a certain level of fame even tho those same consumers were there from day UNO
Others wondered why a brand would sacrifice its core consumer to "stay in Star's good graces":
@harleyjennMC @juviasplace Why do some of these brands and influencers go against all that is good to be in his good graces? He's NOT the God of makeup. He's a continuously problematic brand owner and influencer that people have given far too much power to. It's gross.
While people thought Juvia's Place had sent Star products for the review, clips from the video showed him purchasing the foundation from Ulta. However, YouTubers like Jackie Aina and Alissa Ashley still vowed not to support a brand that "didn't give not one single fuck about having a relationship with any of [them]":
The owner didn’t give not one single fuck about having a relationship with any of us until she had complexion to launch because she knows people are looking for reviews from us. Hell, Nyma completely stopped receiving PR all together & then suddenly gets the foundations
Aina noted that she can't work with brands that "use pro-black imagery to lure black $$, only to step over them on the way to the top," and THIS is a message for everyone:
“all skinfolk ain’t kinfolk”🙁 I can’t align myself with any brand, black-owned or not, that purposely taunts their customers. it’s not okay to use pro-black imagery to lure black $$, only to step over them on the way to the top and reject them when you get there
Others disagreed and said that we should be "happy a black-owned business got a HUGE shoutout and they will be more successful now":
So people are really “boycotting” @juviasplace because they posted about @JeffreeStar review of their foundation / concealer. How about just being happy a black owned business got a HUGE shoutout & they will be more successful now. Fake ass sjw’s