Hi everyone, I didn't see any posts regarding this topic on here, but I thought I would share my thoughts anyway.
I like makeup, and I enjoy watching makeup videos on YouTube. I only watch a couple of bigger YouTubers, and one of them is Kathleen Fuentes (best known as KathleenLights), pictured below.
I know that you can't really know someone based only on their videos, but she comes off as an honest, sweet girl, unlike many other people in the beauty community on YouTube. A couple days ago, a video with Kathleen (KL) saying the word n***a was posted online. I won't be including it in the post because I'm not sure how to add a video, sorry! It is on YouTube.
She subsequently posted the following apology on her Instagram:
I know that some people will say that it is not my place to comment on what happened because of my ethnicity, but her apology was directed at her disappointed followers, and I am one of them. I was very, very disappointed to see her use the word, especially as it seems to be a part of her regular vocabulary, judging by how easily and naturally it rolled of her tongue. KL also says she was drunk, and I personally believe that drunk people say what's on their mind, so if anything, that should serve as further confirmation of her frequently using the word.
KL says that she doesn't come from a place of racism, and I do believe that she didn't have any malicious intent. However, the word itself has so much history associated with it that by using it, and normalizing it, ignorance and racism can spread.
I know that a lot of people are calling out Jaclyn Hill for posting the video, however, to me this isn't a question of whether or not it should have been posted. It's about KL saying it in the first place.
I did unsubscribe from her, and won't be watching her videos anymore. I know that me unsubscribing won't affect her in any way, but I wouldn't feel right supporting her after what happened. I know that she is coming out with her nail polish collection, a lipstick, and an eyeshadow palette, and I would be interested to know how, or if, the incident affects the sales.
To me, the bigger issue is how many people may watch the video and think that it is okay to use language like this, and everything that comes with. I just hope that this doesn't make her younger subscribers feel like it is okay to use the n-word, because they may be used to looking up to KL as their role model.
Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think.