On Monday, BeauTuber NikkieTutorials (real name Nikkie De Jager) posted a 17-minute long vlog titled, “I’m Coming Out.”, in which she revealed she is a transgender woman.


“Today I am here to share with you something that I always wanted to share with you one day, but under my own circumstances. It looks like that chance has been taken away from me so today I am taking back my own power,” she begins. “When I was younger, I was born in the wrong body, which means I am transgender.” She describes her journey—realizing she was a girl at age 6, undergoing hormone therapy and taking growth stoppers at age 14—before explaining that she was “blackmailed by people who wanted to leak my story to the press.” She doesn’t name her blackmailers, but I’m gonna go ahead and say fuck them for trying to take this away from her.

Of course, this is YouTube, and even though members of her makeup community verbalized their support for her on social media, that was only going to last so long. Hours after she posted her video, Too Faced Cosmetics co-founder Jerrod Blandino changed her Twitter bio to “Transgender huh? That’s not the only thing she’s been LYING about.” YouTube gossip channels found it immediately, leading Blandino to change the copy to, “Lets be clear, I love trans people & dislike anyone who lies to hurt others! Period!” According to Insider, fans assumed the comment was a continuation of an ongoing beef between Nikki and the makeup brand. (Here’s the abridged version of why: The two worked together but Nikki felt she was underpaid for the collaboration, something Jeffree Star revealed in his makeup series with Shane Dawson. You can rest assured that when there is beef, Star is somehow involved.) Still—maybe Blandino should read the room? This isn’t about makeup? Or him?


Nikki has not revealed who blackmailed her, and it’s likely she won’t. As for the other YouTubers and makeup gurus blinded by the blue “#1 ON TRENDING” icon that sits above her videos title—it’s only inevitable that they will take her coming out story and attempt to make it about themselves.