Disclaimer: Article was written with the current info available at the time. The author’s opinions on the topic and the people involved are subject to change if/when new info comes to light. All accusations involved in the beauty community are alleged and not 100% verified unless stated otherwise. There is mention of sexual assault in the article. 

In May of 2019, YouTube exploded with the Dramageddon controversy between Tati Westbrook, James Charles and Jeffree Star. Recently, Westbrook uploaded a new video with new accusations that Star and Shane Dawson orchestrated a whole plot to take down Charles.

Though it’s easy to dismiss this drama as meaningless, it’s compelling because it parallels the corruptness of the American government. 

Dawson, after placing himself in the drama, is currently under fire for his racist past dealing with black face and saying the n-word, which he has recently apologized for, and inappropriate actions with children like jokingly – which still doesn’t make it morally okay – masturbating to a poster of then 11-year-old Willow Smith, which he hasn’t apologized for. Star himself has a deep-seeded and well documented racist past. 

Despite this, These individuals still hold tons of power on YouTube, each with millions of subscribers, gaining more public favor since Dawson’s docuseries about the beauty community. In the same way, while Donald Trump and Joe Biden both have their own experiences with racism, Trump’s being much more explicit, and sexual assault allegations, they still are the two candidates we have to choose from for the upcoming presidential election. 

YouTube itself is a form of democracy. We as viewers can subscribe and like and share videos to show our support and give boosts to our favorite creators as if they were political campaigns. However, even though we think we have the power, the establishment, whether in the form of YouTube’s most popular creators or the DNC, are the ones really pulling the strings, making shady deals behind closed doors just waiting to get exposed.  

During Dramageddon last year, many people flocked from Charles to Westbrook and then reversed track after Charles’ second response video. However, after a year, it seems like nothing has changed, even though allegations of sexual assault, and now a conspiracy to take down Charles, shouldn’t be taken lightly.  

Now Instagram and TikTok feeds alike are becoming less concerned with the Black Lives Matter movement and back to regularly scheduled programming, even though this fight is far from over. People shouldn’t be shamed for wanting entertainment in their downtime, but, like sexual assault allegations, we shouldn’t turn a blind eye to overt proof of police brutality.  

Big, momentous change has yet to occur. NYPD passed a new budget with millions less for the police, but police reform in Congress has yet to be passed, and may never since the House and Senate can’t agree on a package. As viewers we can’t agree on who to side with since everyone in charge is spouting different facts so a stalemate is created, which is enough for the controversy to get swept under the rug. 

On an international level, it’s like when the Pentagon Papers unveiled that the government was lying to the public about the Vietnam war and, most recently, the Afghanistan papers revealing a similar lie. The government still maintained its power and the military kept receiving billions of dollars in funding even though this treasonous betrayal could’ve easily been met with a revolution. 

Or when Trump allegedly conspired with Ukraine against Biden, just like how Star conspired with Dawson to take down Charles, according to Westbrook. Trump was impeached, but the attempt to remove him from office failed, and I assume that Star and Dawson won’t be unseated either. Some progress has been made by YouTube since they removed monetization from all past and future videos on all his channels, but that’s only taking away the money, not the fame. 

While we wait for official responses from Dawson and Star to fill the downtime bestowed by quarantine, I will also be waiting to see how far BLM goes in changing America. If it’s anything like Dramageddon, not much will happen, but YouTuber fans have never protested in the streets.