Since her disaster of a lipstick launch, Jaclyn Hill has been MIA — like, she literally deleted all of her social media accounts except her YouTube channel. However, on July 23, 2019, Hill posted a video to her YouTube channel titled, “Where I’ve Been.” In the two days since it went live, the video has garnered over 2.6 million views from fans and followers who want to know what the heck went wrong with her first Jaclyn Cosmetics launch.
“I don’t even want to be filming this because I don’t want to talk about my feelings, and what’s been going on, and all that,” Hill says in the first 30 seconds of her video. “And I’m just terrified.”
To briefly recount the dumpster fire that was the launch of the Jaclyn Cosmetics “So Rich” lipstick collection, here’s what happened: In June, Hill debuted her collection of 20 nude shades to an excited fan base. When people received their lipsticks they realized that something was very wrong with the formula. Customers reported finding hairs, fibers, plastic balls, solidified ingredients, holes, moisture spots, mold, and more grossness within their lipstick bullets.
And to make matters worse, Hill immediately got defensive rather than following the old saying, “the customer is always right.” The company tried to desperately save face to no avail.
Everyone and their mother made a YouTube video about what they found in their Jaclyn Cosmetics lipsticks, and Hill was forced to make an apology video.
However, she still remained on the defensive stating that her lipsticks “are not hazardous, they are not contaminated,” she said in the June 12th video. “They are not unsafe for you in any shape, way, or form. Every single ingredient is FDA approved and they are not expired.”
[fm_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8QeSZpr0bs"]Hill ended up deactivating/deleting her socials in order to “put the pieces back together,” as she later explains. “You have to start rebuilding,” she says in her most recent video.
I 100% believe that Jaclyn deactivated social media to keep current followers. I 100% believe #jaclynhill keeps her YouTube page up for the money. Especially views rolling in from all of this drama. She's a coward and a liar. I have zero sympathy for her. Happy Birthday.
— Panicked Antics (@slutmuffin0822) July 20, 2019
And then… she disappeared. Until now.
[fm_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7-brN0qCqI"]The entire YouTube community seeing this video on their homepage:
When Jaclyn hill makes a new vid out of no where pic.twitter.com/olvuyU0iG5
— Damon Cole (@iamdamoncole) July 24, 2019
“This video might be the biggest mistake of my entire career, but that’s okay,” Hill says in the above video. She then says that her YouTube following deserves some sort of explanation for her absence and why she responded to the controversy the way she did.
jaclyn hill: so many people have told me to keep my mouth shut, move on & let them forget about it
— Pay🥺 (@hosenacheisser) July 24, 2019
no one:
absolutely no one: pic.twitter.com/YW3GKHeOMr
She thanked the people and fellow influencers who have reached out to her since the scandal. However, six minutes into the video, her reason for making this video was still unclear.
“My god it took almost 9 minutes into her new video to say the words ‘I’m Sorry,'” one follower wrote on Twitter on July 24th. “Girl…”
Okay catching up on Jaclyn Hill’s return to the world post lipstick gate and my god it took almost 9 minutes into her new video to say the words “I’m Sorry.” Girl...
— Dayna B (@daynabreezy) July 24, 2019
How she sustained such a big fan base I’ll never understand.
Hill does state in the video that she wants to eventually put this whole scandal behind her and get back to focusing on her makeup tutorials. And that’s seemingly what her fans want, as well.
I love Jaclyn Hill but come on, girl. Ugh all we really want is your make up tutorials. That’s all. 🤷🏼♀️ Somebody tell her she’s forgiven.
— tt (@tabes19_) July 25, 2019
She owned up to the fact that she failed at her venture into the cosmetics field. But her fans are still stanning.
Jaclyn Hill just uploaded her first video in over a MONTH -- I've been waiting for this day! 🙏Come back to us 👏💯💄💋https://t.co/Jaw8QINJWa
— Kristen (@kristengillxo) July 24, 2019
With over 104,000 likes and 68,000 dislikes on the video, it’s obvious that there are still two split sides when it comes to Jaclyn Hill and her response to the lipstick controversy. On Twitter, people are seemingly over it and over her.
Yikes. Sad, but true.
Twitter on their way to drag Jaclyn Hill pic.twitter.com/cGRNoD4P41
— 💞 (@faeriedustluv) July 24, 2019
And still, no one is quite sure what her aim was with this most recent upload. We seemingly rehashed old news and didn’t learn a whole lot.
Jaclyn Hill - “Where I’ve Been” summary:
— im out (@outofhere111) July 24, 2019
I’m not going to tell you what’s happened over the last few weeks. I’m only uploading because my PR team said I needed to. I’m dark on social media so that my brand doesn’t suffer with everyone tagging me.
So… here we are.
We have a feeling this isn’t the last time a new chapter of the Jaclyn Hill drama will appear on our feed. We might as well cook up some popcorn.
Me: I’m honestly so over all the YouTuber drama *#jaclynhill uploads another dumb video. Me: pic.twitter.com/NL8p82rzEU
— HaleyLeannWilliams (@HaleyLeannWarr1) July 24, 2019