Kameron Lester cordially invites you to the third annual #JeffreeStarIsOverParty!
The 23-year-old makeup artist and beauty vlogger recently opened up about his experiences working with the YouTube titan, during which he felt “uncomfortable,” “manipulated,” and like the “token Black kid.”
Related: Jeffree’s Cremated Palette Sells Out Immediately & Twitter Goes MAD!
In a 27-minute IGTV video, Kameron explained why he officially cut ties with the cosmetics mogul and why he will “no longer support Jeffree Star Cosmetics or Shane Dawson,” telling his followers:
“Hi guys, I want to get on my platform and just be [as] transparent as possible… I really have been super scared to use my platform, I’ve been super scared to speak from my heart and speak up for myself.”
The aspiring influencer went on to dissect his working relationship with Jeffree, noting he felt they were never actually friends, spilling:
“I just felt like it was never a friendship, it was never a friendship in the beginning to start with, it was always just something like I was the kind of like the token black kid.”
The beauty vlogger even gave an example of this, telling listeners about the time he worked with Star on a campaign for Jeffree Star Cosmetics. Lester revealed after he modeled for the YouTuber’s brand, he was set to do another campaign but was replaced by his unnamed “ex-best friend.”
He shared:
“I felt like [Jeffree] was trying to send the message in some way that I was replaceable as a Black boy. I felt like this was a game.”
As for Dawson, who on June 4 promoted him as one of his “favorite makeup artists” on his Instagram page, Kameron said:
“Even with Shane Dawson posting me on his platform… I was grateful, but I felt like it was kind of to silence me to be like ‘We’re gonna keep giving you breadcrumbs and hanging you by a string and manipulating you so you can stay quiet.’ I felt always silenced.”
He eventually brought up an experience where Jeffree allegedly asked him if he liked fellow beauty vlogger (and noted Star nemesis), James Charles, recalling:
“I didn’t even know what to say to that… [Jeffree] was so blunt and out of nowhere. James helped me with my career when I first got into the beauty space… he’s always been very supportive of me. [Jeffree] was like, ‘Well you don’t f**king owe him forever.'”
Another notable experience for the young vlogger was the time he allegedly spoke to Star about Jackie Aina, a beauty influencer who famously called the makeup mogul out for his racist behavior in 2018.
Kameron said in the video:
“I brought it up to [Jeffree] and said, ‘It would really say a lot if you could apologize to Jackie and the community.’ He kind of shut it down and said, ‘She doesn’t deserve a f**king spot on my platform.’ … Which is understandable, and it is his platform, and he has all rights to do whatever he wants to do on his platform. I just left it at that, but I was definitely hurt as a Black boy and as a Black influencer who loves Jackie, that he was not trying to grow or amend that disconnect or wrongdoing he has done.”
It was from that day forward that Lester said he “will no longer just be the token Black boy,” adding:
“I will no longer just be the Black boy that is there to make you look good or speak up for you, because it’s not reciprocated. As a Black beauty boy, I have fought for my spot to be heard and seen in the beauty community… I have been told not to say anything, to keep the network and benefit from it, and I’m just not that type of person. I want to remain authentic.”
Jeffree has yet to publicly address Kameron’s allegations. But, according to the Instagram account Here for the Tea 2, Star sent him a “voice note” with his response.
Star allegedly said in the note:
“That is the most craziest and manipulative and most insane thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life. I know you’re upset… and now people are coming for you for supporting me, so you trying to flip the script and make up a bunch of lies and make me the devil, is so boring.”
After news of the alleged voice note broke, Kameron called out his former mentor on Twitter, writing:
“He was just preaching about Black Lives Matter on his platform. Then send this to a black gay beauty boy who just said he was scared for his life because of his manipulation tactics. He sent this voice note to keep painting a narrative that I was lying and doing all this because… I was upset with the things going on in my life. Trying to spin the narrative and plant the seed that everything was false was why that voice note was sent. This man is 34 and I’m 23 he knows how to maneuver and exactly what to say and how say.”
Yikes.
There’s never a shortage of drama with the beauty vlogger community!
What do U think about these claims, Perezcious readers? Watch the video in full (below) and share your thoughts in the comments.
[Image via Jeffree Star/Kameron Lester/Instagram]
The post Beauty Vlogger Kameron Lester Cuts Ties With Jeffree Star, Says He Felt Treated Like The ‘Token Black Kid’ appeared first on Perez Hilton.