Celebrity
Jeffree Star Gets Involved In Model’s “Blackface” Drama On Instagram
Instagram / Jeffree Star & Ashley Love
You would think that in 2019, people would know that blackface is unacceptable, yet here people are, still doing it. This week, LA-based model Ashley Love came under fire for darkening her skin for a photoshoot, and somehow Jeffree Star managed to get involved in the entire drama.
Earlier this week, Ashley posted a photo to Instagram in which she’s wearing braids and her skin is significantly darker than usual. She captioned the photo: “@nicholerayartistry & I wanted to try something new and test out my versatility…Some may be triggered some may not but this is more of an appreciation post to my Melanin Queens 👸🏼 For those who want to call it blackfishing you’re blind. I am mixed, my mom is white and my dad is black, Learn to love the skin you are in regardless of what color you are! 💛” Um, okay.
The makeup artist from the shoot also posted pictures of Ashley to her Instagram with the caption: “Dripping melanin & honey. Black without apology.”
Naturally, the post has gotten a lot of backlash, mostly on Twitter.
Here’s the post I was talking about . I get trying to show appreciation to dark skin women but this is NOT the way to do it . The mua could’ve just hired a model with a darker complexion !!! pic.twitter.com/gsmX2UOCdO
— ♡TyraJanea♡ (@tyraajaneaa) September 10, 2019
It’s basically 2020 I have NO sympathy for people who still does black face & gets dragged to fifth it’s what they deserve https://t.co/jh4O3lKbN4
— Brown Suga 🐯🦎✨ (@NiaraRenee) September 10, 2019
“Showing appreciation” to dark skinned women by hiring a fair skinned model is not showing dark skinned women appreciation, let’s start there. This is inexcusable and once again, draining. This is why dark skinned models aren’t being paid as much as the Gigi’s and the Kendall’s. https://t.co/BrgpIemSz5
— MANNY 🤴🏾 (@THECLASSICMANNY) September 10, 2019
So where does Jeffree Star come into all of this? Well, his brand, Jeffree Star Cosmetics commented on Ashley’s Insta post saying “wow” with two heart-eye emojis. Considering Jeffree’s racist past, people were p*ssed that his brand (which is probably run by a social media manager, FYI) praised the pic.
Racist Gucci Star proving again how much his “apology” is worth. Blackface is Jeffree Star approved everyone. 🤮 pic.twitter.com/9T9E7Lt3QH
— Ellimeli (@ellinara3) September 11, 2019
Ashley has since apologized for the photo, in a roundabout way. She took to her Instagram Stories to address the hate, writing that she respects everyone’s opinion and that she “thought what I did was beautiful!”
She wrote: “I’m saying this for the last time and the last time only … I apologize for those who feel offended but if I was out here trying to please everyone then I wouldn’t be happy myself. I thought what I did was beautiful! You guys try to separate us lighter skin individuals as if we’re not black too and it’s honestly heartbreaking. My job was to make a statement and I did just that. I still love each and every one of you, I respect every opinion. I see you and I hear you loud and clear but at the end of the day not everybody is going to like what you do and that’s okay. I still got love for y’all.”
Instagram / Ashley Love via Pop Buzz
Ashley later posted to her Story contradicting her apology, writing: “I didn’t do anything to hurt, disrespect, humiliate, make profit, or take opportunities away from anybody. I did this put of appreciation in a respectful manner.
“I stand by my art & my opinion.”
Instagram / Ashley Love
Jeffree is yet to acknowledge the drama, and he probably won’t, considering he most likely wasn’t even the person who wrote the comment. The YouTuber/beauty mogul has previously apologized for racist comments he made in the past with a super long YouTube video, however some skeptics aren’t convinced of his sincerity. Jeffree Star Cosmetics has also been accused of putting models in blackface for photoshoots before, so this definitely isn’t a good look for them.
