On June 15, 2022, Jeffree Star, YouTube’s wealthiest makeup artist, came on Logan Paul’s podcast Impaulsive, where he talked about anything from hooking up with Kanye West and pro players (NBA, NFL, Golf) to living in Wyoming with 100 weapons and 1000 yaks.
He also shared his thoughts on the collapse of the YouTube beauty community in 2019, which he dubbed “Drageddon 2.0.” Star, YouTube conspiracy theorist and documentarian Shane Dawson, and beauty gurus Tati Westbrook and James Charles were at the center of the drama.
It all started when Westbrook, in a YouTube video titled ‘Bye Sister,’ leveled claims against her former buddy and protégé, Charles. Westbrook alleged in the video that Charles had been predatory against other teenage guys who did not identify as gay.
The charges were scathing, and Charles lost tens of thousands of followers and large sponsorship opportunities as a result of them. Following that, Charles posted a video titled ‘No More Lies,’ in which he detailed everything with evidence.
Tati Westbrook and James Charles are to blame for the beauty community’s demise, according to Jeffree Star. Tati’s statements were backed up by Star, who claimed to have knowledge of Charles’ predatory behavior. Unfortunately, he never provided evidence to back up his assertions, subsequently admitting that he had no idea if they were real.
After the ‘Bye Sister’ debacle, Westbrook reappeared to YouTube a year later, on June 30, 2022, alleging that everything she had stated about Charles was poisoned lies provided to her by Dawson and Star. Following the release of Westbook’s video, Dawson and Star went on a social media rampage about how the beauty guru was lying. Unfortunately, online users began searching for Dawson’s previous poor behavior and discovered racist and pedophilic tweets.
Because he had to erase his old content, Dawson lost over a million YouTube subscribers and a billion views. He eventually issued an apology video and took a social media hiatus. Netizens also attempted to have Star deactivated, and he, too, went silent on social media.
Because of the chaos and toxicity, Star stated on the Impaulsive show that the YouTube beauty community was “basically dead.” He also claimed that he was the target of a smear campaign.
“People were horrible, and they attempted to make me a villain because I and Shane were the most successful and had the biggest launch in makeup history, and people were enraged by our success and sought to bring us down,” Star explained.
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He went on to say that the “James and Tati” saga destroyed the beauty industry and had a negative impact on him.
In his autobiography, Jeffree Star will address the drama
In the podcast, Star divulged nothing about the drama, but fans may read his version of Dramagedon 2.0 in his memoirs. The YouTuber discussed the state of his brand market and autobiography in an interview with Women’s Wear Daily while promoting his new skincare line.
In his new book, Star indicated that he will discuss his interpretation of the Dramageddon. He stated, “I believe there was a pinnacle point of the Dramageddon moments and these things that just made the beauty community and industry odd.”
He went on to say that he didn’t know how or when the incident occurred, but that he was writing a book and telling the truth from his perspective.
It was refreshing, according to Star, to see individuals seeking facts and knowledge rather than drama.