On Tuesday, Nov. 5, while fans were patiently waiting for more Conspiracy palettes to go up for preorder on Jeffree Star Cosmetics, fellow beauty guru James Charles released a cryptic tweet about a 30-minute rant he had made for an unreleased Snapchat post. Almost immediately, those hanging out on Twitter threads attached to Shane Dawson’s preorder announcements began to speculate what exactly Charles was referring to. Some users said that Charles was jealous of Dawson’s newfound fame within the beauty community; others expressed the idea that Charles was jealous over Morphe’s choice to take on his Conspiracy collection.
To make matters worse, on Nov. 6, Star released a tweet announcing a restock on select items in Shane Dawson’s Merch store on Friday, Nov. 8. The following day, Charles decided to release a competing tweet announcing the holiday release of his own merch store occurring on the same day and during the same time as the restock for Dawson’s Merch store.
The release of these two competing launch announcements caused uproar within the Twitter community as many began to accuse Charles of trying to steal back a spotlight he never had in the first place. Did Charles really have a bone to pick with Dawson and Star? Was there jealousy boiling within Charles over the success of the novice beauty guru? Let’s take a look at some facts and decide for ourselves.
Killer Merch Cuts Ties with Sisters Apparel
Back in May of this year, it appeared that Star, owner of Killer Merch, had booted Charles and his clothing line, Sisters Apparel, from his list of partners. After Tati Westbrook had denounced her former mentee, Charles, it was made clear that Star was taking Westbrook’s side.
In a series of now-deleted tweets, Star bashed Charles, even going as far as stating that his boyfriend, Nathan, had banned the young beauty YouTuber from their home in Calabasas, California. “There is a reason that Nathan banned James Charles from ever coming over to our home again,” he wrote. “There’s a reason why I haven’t seen him since @GlamLifeGuru’s birthday in February. He is a danger to society. Everything Tati said is 100% true.”
However, in a video released by Charles on YouTube, he stated that it was him, in fact, who broke off the business relationship with Killer Merch. “Many of you guys noticed that the Sisters Apparel website was down… Unfortunately, I had to sever ties with Killer Merch. I just don’t see a world that exists where I could ever be in business with a team ran by someone like Jeffree Star,” he explained.
The following weekend, Charles had posted a second video that was jam packed with digital receipts absolving him of the accusations pinned on him by Westbrook. In response, Star posted an apology video titled “Never Doing This Again.” Star, in the video, apologizes for getting involved with the situation and admitted that his accusations against Charles were solely based off of rumors that he had read or heard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss1eJIzjRlE&t=104s
Obviously, it appears the pair have had their fair share of cat fights with each other. Looking at their recent falling out over the accusations started by Westbrook, both Charles and Star seem to be playing a game of tug-of-war with one another. An activity not uncommon in the beauty community.
The Deleted Starbucks Snapchat Rant
Speculations over Charles and the possible jealousy that he had for Dawson and Star’s success with the Conspiracy palette all began with a tweet: “Just spent 30 mins in the Starbucks parking lot filming a snapchat rant about something bothering me but instead of posting it, I listened to myself rant and then clicked delete,” Charles said. “Sometimes it’s healthy to have a conversation with yourself before having it with others.”
While it is still unclear if the unpublished rant was, in fact, about Dawson and Star, things began to blow up after commentary YouTuber Kavos replied: “But now you have told everyone you had a rant about something you felt was important enough to share on snapchat which now leads to speculation of what the rant was about (Shane and Jeffree maybe?) and defeats the point of ‘talking to yourself’ because now everyone knows.”
But now you have told everyone you had a rant about something you felt was important enough to share on snapchat which now leads to speculation of what the rant was about (Shane and Jeffrey maybe?) and defeats the point of “talking to yourself” because now everyone knows
— Kavos (@KavosYT) November 3, 2019
Charles decided to lash back at Kavos stating that the fellow YouTuber had looked too far into it. Soon, the pair began to fight within the thread to Charles’ original Twitter post. In the end, Charles put the final nail in the coffin: “No, you’re looking for drama where there is none. Shocking!” While there is no concrete proof over who Charles was referring to in his tweet, it hasn’t stopped many from assuming who the makeup artist was referring to.
Sisters Apparel Holiday Launch
When Charles released the items that would be featured as a part of his holiday collection launch on Sister Apparel, many questioned some of the merchandise choices. While power banks and slippers are all good and well, those who viewed the new merchandise focused in on the robes and hand mirrors embroidered with the iconic “Sisters” logo.
Why are bathrobes and mirrors such an issue? Well, anyone who is a fan of either Star or Dawson would know their connection with the two items. In many of Dawson’s videos and in almost every one of Star’s Snapchat videos, the pair seems to always be donning bathrobes. The piece of clothing has, in a sense, become connected to the two influencers. Appearing as if bought from the local Target with an ironed-on “Sisters” logo stuck to the left breast, Charles’ imitation of Star’s pink bathrobe falls flat.
Similarly, Star, and more recently Dawson, are known for the handheld mirrors connected to the release of their makeup collections. Star has always included these mirrors as a part of Jeffree Star Cosmetics. Each takes the form of a star with the popular Jeffree Star logo on the back. More recently, Dawson released a pair of handheld mirrors alongside his Conspiracy collection. Taking the internet by storm, these mirrors take the shape of a pig’s head. In contrast, looking cheaply made and with a dingy “Sisters” logo carelessly stuck to the back, Charles handheld mirror did not sit well with fans.
SISTERS APPAREL Holiday Collection launching today at 12PM PST! Bath robes, slippers, gold and silver necklaces, hand mirrors, and battery banks!!! 😍❤️ https://t.co/yrLGOkDgDR pic.twitter.com/GDFyfvP98Y
— James Charles (@jamescharles) November 8, 2019
Despite what Charles might have expected for the launch of his Holiday collection, the site did not sell out. In fact, it seems sales were quite underwhelming. In contrast, a majority of the restocked items on Dawson’s merch site sold out within minutes.
Is there a new feud?
While there is no concrete evidence to suggest that Charles has hard feelings over Star and Dawson’s recent success, the speculations aren’t that far-fetched. Considering the past drama between Charles and Star, it would not be a shock to discover one still had antipathy for the other. It is also a well-known fact that Charles loves to be in the spotlight at all times.
Watching a novice “beauty guru” take this spotlight away could have caused Charles to get a bad taste in his mouth. Especially considering that the success came along with assistance from Star. However, the truth may never come to the surface. It is up to followers of the influencers to decide what they believe to be true. What do you think? Will there be a new feud between Charles and Star?
