The YouTube star and beauty mogul posted her first video in over a year and addressed the drama she's faced in her private life.
Tati Westbrook has made her return to YouTube. After a year-long absence following her highly public and complex drama with fellow beauty vloggers, Westbrook posted a new video to the platform on Thursday.
"I have missed you so much, and I cannot wait to get back to the makeup, back to reviews, back to doing my thing," Westbrook said. "I've thought about this for so long and I'm really excited that I'm even just sitting down and filming."
Westbrook said she first thought about just returning to making videos and not addressing the controversy and the feuds. However, she realized that many fans "want answers about certain things that have been splattered over the internet."
Westbrook coyly addressed the explosive drama, calling it "a terrible time in my life," and referring to the drama as "the past event that seems to want to follow me everywhere I go."
The drama involved Westbrook publicly blasting James Charles in 2019, in what was one of the biggest and most dramatic YouTuber feuds at the time. She later accused Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson of working together to manipulate her into her attack on Charles. Star and Dawson have both denied the accusation.
According to Westbrook's new video, as she stepped back from her involvement in the YouTube beauty community, she cut ties with those involved in the feud, as well as nearly all other vloggers.
"When I pulled back, I stopped communication with everyone in the beauty community," she shared. "I haven't talked to anyone in over a year. I really took a break and I needed to for my peace of mind."
Westbrook went on to clarify some rumors that have been circling regarding the drama, and stated, "There’s no litigation. No cease and desist.... Legal things happened. Just not in the I-don’t-wanna-talk-about-it event."
She went on to address how she is currently in the middle of a legal battle with her business partner in her company, Halo Beauty. E! News reported in October that Westbrook and her husband are facing a lawsuit from their business partner and are accused of breach of contract, gross negligence and fraud.
"There was no way that I could just come back online and start reviewing makeup and promoting Halo Beauty while there’s this big lawsuit thrown around the internet," Westbrook shared. "I needed to wait until the storm calmed to be able to come back and post again."
The legal drama has apparently taken a real toll on her life. She and her husband, James Westbrook, sold their home in Los Angeles, and the pair almost called it quits on their marriage amid the worst of it.
"James and I almost got divorced. He got his own place. We were separated during the holidays,” she revealed. "I did not think we were gonna work it out. I thought there was no hope.... It was a tough and lonely holiday season."
Westbrook shared that she and her husband have since reconciled and are working things out, which she said is "a miracle" but she asked her fans for kind thoughts and support amid her legal woes, sharing, "I’d appreciate your prayers over it."
Westbrook also promised fans that she'd learned some important life lessons and had reevaluated her outlook and her behavior. She explained, "Moving forward, you’re going to see a different version of me."
Westbrook emotionally spoke with ET in November 2019, before her departure from the platform, and opened up about the challenges of being a vlogger and why she feels committed to her endeavor.
"It's hard work sometimes to continue to put out content and to do it well," she explained. "Even on the challenging days, I have to remember where I started and that was like some type of spiritual contract that I have with myself throughout this is that I will never turn my back on my audience. They gave me this, you know?"
For more on Westbrook's very public feuds with a number of other YouTube stars, check out the video below.
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