YouTube Beauty Vlogger Laura Lee’s Business Crumbles Over Racist Posts

Beauty vlogger Laura Lee’s cosmetics launch of her brand, Laura Lee Los Angeles, has taken a hit after some racist and fat-shaming posts from 2012-2013 were revealed by fans of a rival makeup vlogger.

The Daily Beast says that Lee had reached over 5 million followers until the old tweets were revealed.

“Tip for all black people if you pull ur pants up you can run from the police faster.. #yourwelcome.”

Her followers dropped significantly when followers of competing vlogger Jeffree Star shared these nasty nuggets with the public. After that, retailers have weighed in saying that they don’t want to be associated with someone who would say such things. Ulta has posted a response saying that they will no longer carry the Laura Lee Los Angeles brand.

“We have decided not to move forward with the launch of Laura Lee Los Angeles. Ulta Beauty values equality and inclusivity in all that we do.”

Monsters and Critics says that other lesser known companies are cutting ties with Lee including several subscription services. Brands like Colourpop, Morphe, and BoxyCharm have decided it’s not a good idea to stay associated with someone who has posted such negative and deliberately racist statements on Twitter.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmJc-xWhAPy/?taken-by=lauraleelosangeles

It’s unclear when Ulta Beauty was planning to launch their association with Laura Lee Los Angeles, but the company has officially called off the collaboration. Yosef Martin of Boxycharm was reportedly the first company to cut ties with Lee after learning about the tweets from 2012 through 2013.

Morphe Brushes has been doing business with Laura Lee for years, but they also have quickly cut ties over the controversial comments. In the past, Laura Lee had been featured on their website as “extended fam.”

On her Instagram page, Laura Lee had been a brand ambassador for sunglasses by Diff Eyewear, who have dropped the YouTube beauty vlogger. Sources say that the current problems got started when Lee was photographed with other YouTubers Gabriel Zamora, Manny MUA, and Nikita Dragun who were all giving the finger with a caption referencing Jeffree Star that said: “B***h is bitter because we’re doing better without him”

This set out some revenge research by fans of Star that turned up the offending tweets by Laura Lee, and they were posted all over social media, tanking her brand.

Laura Lee released an apology video on YouTube that featured the beauty influencer sobbing, saying she was sorry, and asking fans to forgive her. Lee also tweeted an apology, but the numbers of those who follow her continued to drop.