Celebrity1 min(s) read
Published 15:50 01 Jul 2020 GMT
Tati Westbrook has taken to her YouTube channel to accuse Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star of "manipulating" and "coercing" her into posting her 'Bye Sister' video about James Charles in May of last year.
In the 'Bye Sister' video, which has since been deleted, Westbrook claimed that Charles had used his fame and money to manipulate people's emotions.
"You tried to trick a straight man into thinking that he's gay yet again, and somehow you're the victim," she asserted. "You know it's really disgusting to manipulate someone's sexuality."
She previously accused her friend of being disloyal after promoting a rival hair supplement to hers.
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Now, in a 40 minute YouTube video, titled 'Breaking My Silence...' Westbrook read from a statement, which she said had been approved by her legal team.
"I wanted to clear up a few reasons why I felt I couldn't be online the last couple of months," the beauty vlogger began. "I want to speak as much of my truth as I'm legally permitted to do."
She explained that she had "lost" over a year of her life "terrified" of social media and "speaking up against the people that used, coerced and manipulated," but first offered a public apology to James Charles, who is another veteran beauty YouTuber.
She disclosed that seven months after her initial video, she met up with Charles and they "compared DMs, texts and stories" about what had really transpired in the months leading up to her explosive expose.
"We apologised to each other, forgave each other and agreed to wait patiently until it was safe to share my story," she said.
Watch the whole video below:
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Westbrook also alleged that Charles had "repeatedly" said that he wanted to film the video with her, but that she believed it was important to do by herself as he deserved a proper public apology.
Westbrook breaks down on several occasions throughout the video, saying that although she had become frustrated with Charles' "progressing sense of entitlement", she was not overly worried about his behavior until Shane Dawson became involved.
"I made the video because of all the poisonous lies that were fed to me by Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star," the 38-year-old claimed. "Yes, I'm a grown woman, I'm smart, I can usually spot deceit and manipulation a mile away, but my guard was down from being heartbroken and I allowed myself to be worked by Shane, Jeffree and others."
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"I’m sorry that I bought into any of their lies. Believing their lies and allowing myself to be gaslit into making that video is one of the biggest regrets of my life. I should have tried harder to reach you over those concerns in person and I’m sorry for giving up.
"None of my concerns became overwhelming until after I met Shane Dawson. When I made my video, I expressed my opinions about James Charles’ behavior. I expressed how much a specific decision he made that I perceived as betrayal hurt me. I was very worried and heartbroken but I did not lie in that video."
Becoming emotional once more, the YouTuber says she allowed herself to be "gaslit" into making the video, which she says is one of the biggest regrets of her life.
She then goes onto allege that Dawson called Charles a "monster" with "many victims", whom he was planning on interviewing for his documentary series with Star.
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Dawson has denied having any involvement in Westbrook's Bye Sister video, however, in this new video, Westbrook claims that not only did he offer to help edit it, but that he also offered to design the thumbnail and title it.
Westbrook continued: "I did not call James Charles a predator and I never said that he was a danger to society. My video was not made with any malice. I did not publicly air any of the horrific accusations that were being made behind the scenes."
The information [Dawson and Star] were giving me was terrifying. I thought your career and freedom were in jeopardy… I was trying to get you to put your phone down and seek help because I was told there were a lot of victims that were going to come forward to destroy you."
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"My opinion is that Shane and Jeffree were bitterly jealous of James Charles' success and needed James marginalised for the launch of their palette," Westbrook continued, before concluding with a warning: "For everyone else whose hands are dirty and have not yet come forward, be careful of your allegiances, you don't want to be on the wrong side of the truth"
While Star has not yet publicly responded to Westbrook's allegations, Dawson went live on Instagram while watching her video, and claimed that she was "manipulative" and "fake crying", per Cosmopolitan.
