Whether it is the infamous Tattoo Liner or the flawless-formula Everlasting Liquid Lip, we’ve all used a Kat Von D makeup product or passed by her dazzling counter at Sephora. However, on Jan 16, 2020, the outspoken tattoo artist announced that she will be stepping down from the self-titled line and will be relinquishing all her shares and control to Kendo—beauty company that is also responsible for the iconic Rihanna line, Fenty Beauty, skin care holy grail Ole Henriksen, remarkable Marc Jacobs beauty and Kat von D’s partners for the past 11 years. Kendo is officially the sole owner of the makeup line and they decided to change the name to KvD Vegan Beauty.
Writing an in-depth caption, Von D made her announcement on Instagram to her 7.8 million followers. Explaining how 2019 was a year of great change for her, she goes on to say that “I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy, launched my vegan shoe line, and am now busy prepping to release my long-awaited album in the spring, followed by an international tour!” She continues to admit that she tried to balance everything in her life, but “it has become clear to me that I just can’t do everything at maximum capacity. It’s hard to admit this, since I’ve always said ‘You can do everything and anything.’ But I don’t think admitting one’s limit is a bad thing.”
She explained how she wanted to focus on bringing up her 1-year-old son and caring for him, and how she wanted to deliver her long-awaited album and stay rooted in her music career. Additionally, she wanted to focus her creative energy on her vegan shoe line and explore that creative world and the opportunities it holds. Which made her realize that she will not be able to focus all her energies on her makeup line and give it her all, and she deemed that unfair for her followers.
Even though she is leaving the line, she wants her cult followers to remain faithful in the quality and standards of the line. She believes that Kendo will allow her line to thrive and grow, which is exactly what she wants to happen.
She closes her post by thanking the fans for supporting her and allowing her to develop such a loud, outspoken and true artistry brand that “challenged modern ideals of beauty”, and for giving her a place in the beauty world. She thanks shoppers and supporters for “understanding and respecting [her] choice, as it was a difficult one to make, but one I am proud of regardless, and am confident that the team will continue the KvD legacy.”
It is hard to discuss Kat von D without touching on the alleged rumors of her being an anti-vaxxer and an anti-Semite. To respond to the slander, she made an 11-minute YouTube video denying the rumors and saying that they are “extremely offensive and hurtful”. She only dated “Monster Garage” star Jesse James who wore a Nazi officer’s hat and used his fingers to emulate a Hitler mustache in a 2010 photo. As to the claims of being an anti-vaxxer, she explained how she was conducting a lot of research while pregnant with her son, so she considered not vaccinating him for a while because of hesitancy. However, she changed her mind and decided to vaccinate him. She continued to say that “if I would have known that I would have let so many people down with that I would have never ever shared where we were at with that at that time.”
On a final note, many people were speculating that YouTube sensation and multi-millionaire Jefferey Star “ended her career” when he talked about her in the Shane Dawson three-part documentary of his life, but clearly Kat von D had other and much more valid reasons to step down from her line.
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