- Influencer Bretman Rock, 24, opened up to Them about no longer identifying with the "beauty community."
- Rock reacted to his 2021 livestream where he announced his departure from the beauty industry.
Bretman Rock sat down with Them for the publication's video series "Becoming," published Thursday, where he reacted to pivotal moments in his career as a beauty influencer.
In the video, Rock shares his thoughts on his 2021 livestream where he announced he was leaving the beauty community.
In his Them interview, Rock reflects on the comments he made in the video about the beauty industry: "Girl, now this video. The girls were not happy with this video," Rock laughed. "Ultimately I said what I said and I meant what I said. White people ruined the beauty community and I'mma go."
Rock, who first went viral in 2014 on Vine, said he "fell in love with the creators," and that it made him want to "share makeup and share my confidence with the world" — but that ultimately, the drama that riddled the beauty community led him to step away for good.
"I don't know why it got lost in translation when non-colored individuals were coming in and it just became a money industry and like it just became an ick to me," Rock said. "Like ugh, when did beauty become so ugly?"
Rock's departure from the community came at a time when beauty influencer drama loomed around every corner. In 2018, racist tweets resurfaced from beauty influencers Jeffree Star, Laura Lee, Manny Gutierrez, Nikita Dragun, and Gabriel Zamora in what is now known as "Dramageddon."
In 2020, beauty influencer James Charles found himself in hot water after allegedly sexually messaging minors, feuding with fellow beauty influencer Tati Westbrook, and releasing a faulty palette in 2018 that caused users to break into hives.
Several people came forward to Insider in 2020 accusing Jeffree Star of sexual assault, physical violence, and offering hush money. Star's attorney denied the allegations of physical and sexual violence in the article, calling them "false and defamatory."
The controversies in the beauty community led to a pattern of teary-eyed apology videos by everyone from Lee to Charles. Rock critiqued their inability to apologize properly in his Them interview.
"It's as simple as addressing what you did, saying sorry, and never doing it again. But you bitches are gonna cry, make up excuses, not say sorry, and still do the shit you say," Rock said. "The beauty industry became the sorry industry, and bitch, I ain't sorry."
In his interview with Them, Rock also credited Asian women for inspiring him to start his beauty journey.
"When I first started the beauty industry, I fell in love with the creators, and it made me wanna do what I wanted to do which was literally just share makeup and share my confidence with the world," Rock shared.