Kat Von D has been plagued by terrible accusations for basically the entirety of her career. First came the anti-Semitic rumors after a note surfaced purporting to be written by Kat Von D. She has denied that she ever wrote it. Then came her marriage to Rafael Reyes, who many believe is an anti-Semite based on the fact that he has a giant swastika on his neck. Reyes has since proven that the swastika isn't a symbol of anti-Semitism in his culture, which is actually the Google-able truth. It was appropriated by the Nazis and has had a terrible stigma ever since.
Lastly, nearly the entire beauty community flipped on Kat Von D after she revealed that she would not be vaccinating her son, Leafar Reyes. She's since walked back her original statement, although she chose not to reveal whether or not her son is currently vaccinated. Still, beauty fans everywhere swore off Kat Von D Beauty and hoped their favorite YouTube influencers would do the same.
And just in case influencers think they can support Kat Von D's makeup with no issue, beauty fans on Reddit made a list of every single one. Accountability is a thing, folks.
In fact, Nyma Tang recently removed an entire YouTube video after her fans dragged her for using a Kat Von D product during it.
Tang initially included the Kat Von D Lock-It Foundation ($36, Sephora) in a video roundup of brands with positive reputations that she supports. Immediately, her fans filled up her comments section with their displeasure about the brand being featured.
"Hey guys! I didn't know everything surrounding the KVD situation," Tang assured her fans in a YouTube comment. "The brand wasn't really on my radar, so I didn't follow all the bad news. This is only the second product of hers I've had so I'm editing it out of this video."
But Tang isn't the only influencer whom beauty fans are side-eyeing for featuring Kat Von D products in their videos.
Reddit has an entire blacklist of influencers who dared to show love to Kat Von D Beauty.
They're making and checking that baby thrice! OK, so maybe not thrice. Actually, the list is in an ongoing edit process as new influencers pop up who are still promoting Kat Von D products on their YouTube page. The list had named over 50 YouTubers at the time of publication.
The list labels YouTubers rather specifically.
The YouTubers on the list are labeled so that readers know in what capacity they are incorporating the Kat Von D products into their YouTube content. Some are labeled as actively promoting Kat Von D Beauty products. Others are labeled as simply finishing up products they already owned and don't want to waste. There are even specifications about which YouTuber's fans reached out to whom, like Nyma Tang, who simply didn't know about the drama.
One of the most recent influencers added to the list is Patrick Starrr.
He used Kat Von D's Go Big or Go Home Mascara ($23, Sephora), which dropped just a few weeks ago. The mascara was also promoted by Jackie Cruz, who was the face of the product's campaign. Cruz is also on the blacklist, although she isn't technically a beauty YouTuber. She did appear in the official Kat Von D YouTube video for the mascara since she is the face.
Redditors are constantly updating the list, but also conversing with one another about exactly why these YouTubers are still supporting Kat Von D.
Redditors expressed confusion about what they believe is an uptick in Kat Von D promotion since her latest scandals. "Idk, maybe she is paying lots of cash (+60k) to big influencers in order to stay relevant?" one person speculated. "She definitely did a paid influencer campaign recently as several of my friends ended up doing the campaign," another person shared.
Is it at all possible?
People who are part of the marginalized groups that Kat Von D is accused of offending are speaking out about what it feels like to watch other influencers continue to feature her products.
"As an immunosuppressed Jew, I don’t feel comfortable supporting people who use KVD products in their videos," one critic wrote. "It just feels like such erasure and tells me those creators couldn’t care less about the issues I face or how people like KVD put me at risk every day."
"Man that's a double whammy of danger in these scary times. I hope you stay healthy and safe," another commenter wrote to encourage the individual. "It's really infuriating how much people just don't care!!! It's not some abstract principles, it affects real people in real ways! Privileged people tend to see politics and moral issues as more like thought exercises, while for the less privileged it can be literally life and death."
It is important to reiterate that Kat Von D has denied being an anti-Semite on multiple occasions. Her husband has also.
The beauty mogul denies that she ever wrote the anti-Semitic message in the photo that was circulated on the internet. Her husband has explained on Instagram that the swastika symbol has a different meaning in Central and South American cultures — the symbol existed in his culture long before it was appropriated by Nazi Germany.
"What I have tattooed in Navajo iconography. It's called a 'Whirling log,' and can denote abundance, prosperity, healing, and luck," he wrote. "For the Mayans, the swastika stood for creation, and for the Incas and Aztecs it represented the four seasons due to its four arms, the center symbolizing the sun. The swastika is also found in many Mesoamerican works of art. The swastika is very important in Buddhism and is known as 'Buddha's heart.' There are lots more examples. I hope that satisfies your curiosity. But if it doesn't, [then] cool. No big deal. I know my truth. I don't have to validate myself to anyone."
Still, Reyes' explanation doesn't negate the fact that there is still insensitivity on his part, and he has to reckon with that.
If you know that the swastika still still stirs up such terrible memories and is a symbol of racism in the present day, it's important to acknowledge that wearing it will provoke some negative reactions. People are going to get offended. Frankly, Reyes is justified in wanting to honor his culture and the symbol that was stolen from it and repurposed for hate. His critics are still justified in not wanting to see a symbol that hurts them celebrated. Both things can be true, no?
As for Kat Von D herself, it is worth wondering why she has been repeatedly linked to people who have been tied to anti-Semitism and/or racism. Her ex-boyfriend Jessie James. Her ex-bestie Jeffree Star. Her husband Rafael Reyes. Everyone who is uncomfortable with that detail about her is entitled to feel that way.
One Redditor also pointed out that evaluating influencers who still use Kat Von D products isn't a black and white process.
"I think it's worthwhile to consider how someone responds to followers/subscribers who are disappointed to see them use KVD products," one commenter shared.
"I've messaged ppl after they featured products, and sometimes they get REALLY defensive and angry and double down on their support. But I've had others who are like, 'I don't support her but I'm not going to waste a useful item just because she's a trash bag', or they have ongoing contractual obligations and they can't afford to risk their job. Not everyone is in a position where they can take a public stand against her."
In short? We live in one big complicated world where nuance is just way too underrated.
Nuance (nu*ance): a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound
In less nerdy words, it's possible for two things to be true at the same time without negating each other. It's factual that the swastika holds different cultural meanings yet it's still possible that people don't have to accept its alternative yet originally positive meanings. It's also factual that you can just disengage from Kat Von D and her husband and her supporters without demanding the same from others who choose not to because they are acknowledging such a nuanced situation.
See, nuance. Anywho, this Reddit thread is actually a great idea. People are talking about an issue they care about, why they care about it, and what the different angles of the subject are without tearing each other down. The list is there for people to use or not use as they go about their day in the beauty-loving neighborhood. At the end of the day, when the drama settles down, it's all about your choices and accepting what those choices mean to you.
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
