Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star have definitely had their fair share of YouTube controversies over the years.
With their new series The Beautiful World Of Jeffree Star kicking off, continuing in the footsteps of their project The Secret World Of Jeffree Star, there have definitely been mixed reactions.
Following the trailer, some viewers branded the pair racist, arguing that they shouldnt have their platform. So what exactly have they done to warrant the backlash?
More: Youtube
Racist slurs
Back when he was first making his way to the top, Jeffree was known to tweet some offensive remarks, including racist slurs.
Although the tweets were first written 12 years ago, they were recirculated in the beauty community, before Jeffree made an apology video titled RACISM.
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In the video, he branded his own comments disgusting, vile, nasty and embarrassing.
I am so sorry for my words. I am so sorry you ever had to see me like that…that is not who I am and I apologise deep down to the core of my f***ing being, he added afterwards.
Fellow beauty guru Jackie Aina later alleged that Jeffree had called her a gorilla in messages, writing an open letter to the YouTube star.
I have not and will not excuse his blatantly racist behavior and — not his past references to me in derogatory terms, his use of the N words nor his efforts to eliminate spaces and opportunities for people of color, she wrote.
No one in the community should feel like they are protected enough to continuously say things to make black women feel ugly and ashamed in their own skin.
Blackface and stereotyping
Jeffrees not the only one to have his old words come back to haunt him, as Shane came under fire for using blackface in some of his old videos to portray characters like Chris Brown and Wendy Williams.
The 31-year-old has since admitted he regrets his old edgy sense of humour, which also saw him being branded misogynistic for his character Shanaynay – a persona which relied on lazy sterotypes.
Shane also uploaded an apology video for his past actions, insisting he was ignorant.
In a video titled My Apology (Blackface & Offensive Videos), he explained: The biggest thing I learned is just because it didnt offend my audience doesnt mean it isnt offending massive amounts of people outside of my audience.
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He added: I made a mistake, I shouldnt have done that. I shouldnt have put makeup on my face to look black, I shouldnt have done it. It wasnt mean-spirited, it wasnt malicious, it was just stupid and offensive.
The bestiality and paedophilia jokes
However, it didnt stop there. Shane came under fire earlier this year when horrific comments hed made about his cat were unearthed.
Back in 2015, on an episode of his podcast Shane And Friends, he made a joke about abusing his cat, which he was later forced to issue yet another public apology for.
In a series of bizarre tweets that quickly went viral, he said: I didnt f**k my cat. I didnt c*m on my cat. I didnt put my d**k anywhere near my cat. Ive never done anything weird with my cats.
I promised myself I wasnt going to make apology videos after last years thing so Im just trying to be as short and honest with this as possible.
And its not the only comment the YouTuber was forced to apologise for, after a joke he made about paedophilia was unearthed from another podcast.
I am sorry that these [offensive jokes] are making people uncomfortable, but also its very out of context, he said.
When you listen to the full thing, its still s*** and creepy and bad jokes, but its not me being a pedophile… Im proud that Ive grown up. Im proud that I dont make crazy jokes anymore.
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The high-profile feuds
Amid all the bad jokes and controversies, the pair have had more than their fair share of feuds.
One of Jeffrees most infamous was when Kim Kardashian spoke out against him after facing backlash for coming to his defence.
She initially told fans: I get its a serious deal if you say racial things, but I do believe in people changing, and people that apologise, I will give them the benefit of the doubt.
However, she went on to live stream an apology to fans, saying: I really didnt have the right to say “get over it” to a situation that involves racism.
The pair also shocked fans when they waded into the James Charles and Tati Westbrook drama, with Jeffree tweeting James brother Ian, saying: Why is your brother a predator? Why did you move back to NYC? Exactly. Shut the f*** up.
