Interview: Insider's Kat Tenbarge
(Image: Aleia Murawski for an ICON story by Katy Kelleher)
Digital culture reporter Kat Tenbarge recently published an investigation of Jeffree Star, where she interviews several people alleging abuse and sexual assault against the Youtube beauty guru and former electronic singer. I talked to Tenbarge about her viral piece, as well as internet culture, Youtube, and aesthetics.
How has the response been to your Jeffree Star expose?
It’s been really fascinating! Numbers-wise it has done great and I’m thankful so many people are interested in it. It also got a lot of engagement on Twitter. However, it didn’t really spawn any big conversation like the James/Tati feud did. I think a lot of people already view Jeffree as a villain and he was heavily involved in his boyfriend drama, so it kind of flew under the radar in that sense.
Have you heard from Star himself or his fans?
Not from Jeffree directly! His lawyers communicated with us a lot in the lead-up to publication. Through them, he denied all the allegations, calling them defamatory, but he has never responded to me besides blocking me (lol). A few of his fans have replied to my tweets but there hasn’t been a tidal wave of hate or anything like that.
How did the investigation come about? What inspired you to pursue this story?
So it really started back in April, when Chris Hansen and a bunch of drama channels started investigating Dahvie Vanity, who was one of Jeffree’s frequent collaborators in the MySpace era music scene. A bunch of people pointed out that Jeffree had tweeted about Dahvie being a child predator way back in 2010, but he ended up apologizing and going on tour with him again. I did a piece about all the new Dahvie claims coming forward but during that investigation, I also started talking to people about Jeffree and what he may have known at the time. Through that reporting, I started hearing rumors about Jeffree being predatory himself — which actually supported what a lot of people suspected during the James/Tati feud, which was that Jeffree was projecting his own alleged past behavior onto James.
I’m curious how you connected yourself to the people who revealed so much about Star.
There were a few different ways I got in contact with people! Some people from that era who had information to share reached out to drama channels I'm “mutuals” with who connected us. Other people reached out after I covered the Tati/Shane/Jeffree fallout this summer. And then once I talked to someone who actually knew the people in the Myspace/Stickam alternative social group Jeffree was in, they were able to connect me to 3 more people, who would connect me to more people, etc.
Did you always want to cover internet culture and the YouTube community?
I was always super engaged with internet culture and YouTube growing up and I got into journalism in high school, then majored in it at college, but didn’t realize I wanted to combine the two until I neared the end of college (2018-2019). Throughout college, I did entirely political reporting. The switch in focus was great timing because that’s when a lot of cataclysmic dramas and changes started happening!
Do you see yourself doing political reporting again?
I don't think so! Things could obviously change, but for now, I feel really comfortable reporting on a space I'm so familiar with. The digital culture beat is still small, but I imagine it's going to keep growing rapidly. So my thoughts are to hang on for the ride!
What makes the digital culture beat small?
Well, in terms of people who are specifically called digital or internet culture reporters, I think that’s still a small number. But of course, a lot of non-“digital culture” journalists have reported and have been reporting on the internet this whole time, too. It’s the transition to having people who specifically report about influencers or online misinformation or memes that seem to be small but growing. And from people within the YouTube community especially, it’s been noticeable (from what I’ve heard from others) over the past five years that you’re starting to get journalists who actually understand, respect, and enjoy influencers, as opposed to a mainstream media culture of influencer takedown that really thrived beforehand.
What’s your favorites stuff—apps, content creators, writing, etc.—on the Internet right now?
I’m definitely drawn toward things that help me relax and not think about social media. I love mindless mobile games that peaked in popularity in 2013, like Temple Run. There’s one called Whale Trail I play all the time. I’ve also gotten really into Pinterest again. It’s the most soothing platform for me. As far as content, I’ve been watching/listening to Trisha Paytas and Ethan Klein’s bonkers podcast. Lots of drama and commentary channels always like Angelika Oles and Spill Sesh. I binge hour-long commentary videos like they are TV shows, especially J Aubrey and The Right Opinion. D’Angelo Wallace told me to watch Courtreezy and now I’m obsessed.
Please tell me more about Pinterest! I feel like getting back into it, though I never really used it for longer than a month. Do you use it to organize images of clothes or home decor? Also, I am super jealous that you know D’Angelo Wallace! He’s a quarantine fave.
I love D'Angelo! I actually have a piece coming out about him next week! I have a bunch of Pinterest boards. One for clothes. An apartment one. I use it mostly for recipe/meal planning inspiration, but a lot of times—at night when I'm unwinding—I'll go on Pinterest for an hour and just look at 2015 aesthetics. it brings me so much peace.
What are your current aesthetic obsessions?
I love maximalism. I’m really drawn to online nostalgia, specifically 2008-2014. My most recent tattoo is a Nokia-inspired cell phone. The e-girl aesthetic that’s really popular on TikTok right now has taken over for me. I also love the cyber grunge looks that people are doing. And I’m obsessed with the hair. I’m split between that aesthetic and the cottagecore explosion, which is on another end of the spectrum. But I love the videos of people calmly cutting fruit and making charcuterie boards and having cute kitchens. I’ve been really into ASMR since, like, 2014, so anything with great sounds really appeals to me. And both of those are such good distractions from doomscrolling.
Kat Tenbarge’s work frequently covers online communities and influencer culture. You can read her work here.