Jeffree Star, one of YouTube’s most prominent figures and the owner of a multimillion-dollar cosmetics company, is being accused of sexual misconduct and other bouts of physical violence, according to a new report from Insider.
Insider spoke to four people who said Star “groped men around him without consent” and five people who said they saw Star use a short-range stun device on people as a means to intimidate them. Star’s attorney denied all allegations made in the Insider piece, which goes back years to Star’s days as a MySpace celebrity in the late 2000s. The story describes alleged instances of Star using his celebrity and influence to reportedly harm people around him.
In one instance, Star allegedly tased a homeless teen he knew, invited him back to his apartment, gave the teen Ambien, then “forcibly performed oral sex on him without his consent,” Insider reported. That was according to the accuser, Gage Arthur, who went on the record but later recanted his remarks. Another person told Insider on the record that when she was 15-years-old, Star emailed a nude photo to her. A former Warped Tour stage manager also told Insider on the record that he witnessed Star grope “guys and girls” while on tour.
Insider’s detailed report also alleges that Star, upon hearing about Insider’s investigation, offered witnesses and people speaking on the record $10,000 to recant their stories. At least three people did change or recant their comments, according to Insider. One accuser, who did not recant her story, told Insider, “Jeffree has never hidden any of this. The only thing he’s ever done is shut people up.”
Star has always been a controversial figure, and this isn’t the first time that people have accused him of improper behavior. Earlier this summer, Star was dropped from makeup retailer Morphe because of using racist and offensive language in the past, on top of allegedly manipulating other creators and people close to him. Star, who has 17.2 million YouTube subscribers and is constantly selling new products, issued an apology video for his use of derogatory and racist language in the past.
Star has not publicly commented on the new allegations published by Insider at this time.
