Who knew that a TikTok mascara scandal would be the key to opening Pandoraâs Box of Drama? After the viral mascara-gate fiasco starring Mikayla Nogueira that took over TikTok, the internet grew nostalgic for the notorious 2016 beauty guru era of YouTube, including some of its (problematic) creators. For some reason, the internet thought it would be a great idea to awaken the beast, and re-platform Jeffree Star. I shudder.
If youâre unaware of Starâs past, Iâll lay it out for you. From 2016 to 2018, Star rose to popularity on YouTube through his makeup reviews, tutorials, and collaborations with other popular creators on the site. However, in 2020, Star became the subject of controversy after videos of him using racist and abusive language surfaced, alongside allegations of assault, to which he denied. (Her Campus reached out to Starâs team for comment on these claims, but did not hear back by the time of publication.) Now, in 2023, Star has come under fire yet again after making comments about trans and nonbinary folks during an episode of professional football player Taylor Lewanâs Bussin’ With The Boys podcast on Feb. 14. (Yes â the NFL boyfriend drama was all a publicity stunt. Shocker!)
On the podcast, Star and Lewan got into the subject of pronouns, after Star said he gained a âconservative followingâ as a result of his beliefs. âIâm not into all the other bullsh*t. The they and them pronouns. And all that extra sh*t that we added during the pandemic because everyone was so bored in their f*cking houses. They just started to make up more sh*t,â he said to Lewan.
Star said heâs been gaining more and more appeal from conservative folks: âThatâs why the conservatives like me, because Iâm just real. Youâre not they and them. Youâre trans â youâre male or youâre female. And people get so mad when I say that. How are you a they? What the f*ck does that mean? Itâs stupid.â Yikes. He continued, âBut you need someone like me, that looks like me, to say it. Because if you say it, it turns into, âYouâre homophobic, you hate trans people, you hate gays,â and itâs just how you feel. You donât hate anyone, you just think itâs stupid.â Her Campus reached out to Star for comment on the criticism heâs getting due to these statements but did not hear back by the time of publication.
Naturally, Starâs comments have landed him in hot water. However, this isnât the first time that Star has criticized nonbinary folks and their pronouns. In June 2022, Star appeared on Logan Paulâs podcast, Impaulsive, where he also shared his views on pronouns. âIâve been doing this for so long, these terms did not exist when I was a kid,â Star said, regarding they/them pronouns. When asked for his opinion, he responded, âI think half of itâs f*cking stupid.â
With Star back on social media (full-force, at that), his recent comments have not gone unnoticed by the internet.
Due to his comments, internet users are calling for Star to be de-platformed once again.
However, some Twitter users are wondering why the internet welcomed him back in the first place.
All this to say, bigotry has no place on my following list, FYP, and Twitter feed. You can catch me following unproblematic beauty gurus and learning how to flawlessly apply my foundation in peace.