Jeffree Star's "Cremated" Eyeshadow Palette

About

Jeffree Star's "Cremated" Eyeshadow Palette is a makeup product released by beauty YouTuber Jeffree Star in May 2020. The eyeshadow palette is death-themed with all 24 shades named after the cremation process. The product quickly became controversial for referencing death during the coronavirus pandemic.

History

On May 15th, 2020, Jeffree Star took to Twitter^[1] to make an announcement about his new product, the Cremated eye shadow palette (shown below, left). The tweet gained over 138,300 likes and 14,100 retweets in three days. The next day, Jeffree Star^[2] tweeted photos of the inside of the palette and said, "The inside of the #CREMATED palette 🖤 24 shades. Retail: $58 🕊 The entire collection will be launching MAY 22ND @ 10AM PST / 1PM EST ⚱️ #jeffreestarcosmetics #crematedpalette" (shown below, right). The tweet accumulated over 114,900 likes and 11,100 retweets in two days.

That same day Star uploaded a YouTube video revealing the product and received over 6.4 million views and 338,000 likes in two days (shown below).

Reception

On May 15th, Twitter user @mrharley87^[3] responded to Stars initial announcement by tweeting, "I mean far be it from me to tell anyone how to name their products. But @JeffreeStar I think you picked a bad time to name a collection #CREMATED in light of the #COVID19 #coronavirus and people who’s loved one’s don’t get a proper burial" (shown below, left). Many Twitter users posted similar tweets. That same day, many Twitter users also posted praise for the product and poked fun at the name. Twitter user @kelgrohs^[4] posted an image of an urn captioned, "My mom is so excited for the new @JeffreeStar palette! #CREMATED" (shown below, right). The tweet gained over 270 likes and 20 retweets in three days.

On May 15th, Twitter user @bamquilter^[5] tweeted, "When @JeffreeStar is announcing a palette called #CREMATED and your grandma is actually being cremated on Monday! I will probably still get the palette though! #crematedpalette" and received over 220 likes in three days (shown below left). The next day, Twitter user @jennIrv913^[6] tweeted, "To all the people talking stuff my grandmother also passed and was cremated and in NO way do I think this is offensive….STOP trying to make something out of nothing" (shown below, right). The tweet garnered over 700 likes in two days. The Daily Dot,^[7] Insider^[8] and Teen Vogue^[9] published articles citing that many thought the product was tone-deaf. According to Buzzfeed,^[10] Star addressed the controversy on Instagram live and said: "My own father was cremated, my two dogs that passed away last year were cremated -- so nothing ever comes from a negative place in my life. So, if you take it that way, that's how you articulate things -- but bitch, not me!"

Search Interest

External References