Yesterday, Patrick Ta sat down on the podcast Aspire with Emma Grede for an episode titled “The Accountability Conversation.” In the hour-long episode, the beauty brand founder opened up for the first time about his recent controversy with makeup artist Ngozi Esther Edeme (also known as Painted by Esther) about his new Transition Blush Duo. “At first, to be honest, I did not understand it,” he says, regarding the backlash he received. “The intent of this launch was never to take ownership over this technique.”
While Edeme never claimed to own the transition blush technique, she is widely credited for popularizing the style on Black women, especially with richer skin tones. But, like many Black artists, her influence was completely ignored. “What started off as a conversation about the product grew into a much larger conversation about recognition and creator influence, especially within the Black community, and not being recognized for their contributions on culture,” he told Grede.
However, according to Ta, he reached out to Edeme about a collaboration prior to the launch. “Unfortunately she declined the opportunity because she wasn’t taking paid collaborations at the moment,” he alleged. But, Edeme never mentioned he reached out to collaborate. Instead, she claimed Patrick Ta’s co-founder, Rima Minasyan, booked a “do-and-go” with the intention of recording Edeme’s blush technique (which she says was an odd request for the service booked), an appointment the makeup artist cancelled. However, in turn, Ta claims that was false. “I feel like the story on the internet is the other way around,” he said.
Despite their conflicting accounts, Ta issued an apology to Edeme on his Instagram: “I am genuinely sorry for the hurt and frustration caused. That was never my intention, but I have learned that impact matters more than intent.” However, for Patrick Ta, the controversy couldn’t have come at a worse time. With Black women calling for the boycott of Asian businesses, including beauty supply stores and nail salons, after Chikei Rick Chow was found not guilty for the murder of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton at his South Carolina convenience store, it is not difficult to divest from Ta to support Black-owned makeup brands where Black women don’t have to fight to be seen. (It’s exhausting!)
In fact, many Asian beauty businesses have long relied on Black dollars for their success. Due to systemic racism, studies show strong historic ties of Asian-owned businesses in majority-Black communities and, with Black women responsible for 11.1% of total beauty spending (nearly $10 billion dollars per year), losing the trust of our community is significant. For Patrick Ta, not crediting a Black makeup artist, especially one known for popularizing blush on women with rich skin tones who’ve had a long-standing struggle to find an appropriate pigment, has had a significant impact on his brand. And, most Black women aren’t accepting his apology.
In part, because this isn’t his first offense. Less than two years ago, influencer Avonna Sunshine destroyed Patrick Ta products in a viral TikTok video with one million likes. “I’m sick of seeing companies profit off of the Black dollar and they’re not paying Black creators,” she said, exposing Ta for unpaid invoices. “How would you feel if someone stole from you?” Now, with his most recent controversy with Edeme, he’s been building a reputation for offending Black women. In the end, our community doesn’t benefit from supporting his business, especially when the support is unreturned.
“The thing with Patrick is that he is consistently being linked to situations that cause people to question his integrity or lack thereof,” @itspatricemonique commented under the podcast episode on YouTube. Edeme claimed she had “two or three” incidents with Ta herself, in addition to their viral controversy. More to the point, others questioned why Edeme wasn’t featured on the podcast instead of Ta. “Emma, you let me know when you call Esther,” read the caption of @tiavibesonly’s TikTok video with over 13,000 likes. Meanwhile, some pointed out how non-Black people are the only ones accepting his apology on our behalf. Under Ta’s apology post on Instagram, makeup artist @kolbijmakeup commented, “Definitely a certain demographic in the comments excusing this behavior.”
While he’s apologized multiple times, losing the Black dollar seems inevitable. Beauty has long been considered one of the most resilient discretionary categories, to the point, even during economic uncertainty, Black women have remained heavily engaged with beauty and cosmetics. Black beauty is seen as a cultural ritual, space for community, and essential to our daily lives. It is our sacred space, the one space we should be able to put our guard down, to be taken care of, and ultimately, to be seen.
However, with Patrick Ta, beauty has felt like the opposite. Instead, Black women feel their work has been stolen and they have to defend themselves, as if that’s not something we’ve long been forced to do as a people. As a result, it may be difficult for Ta to regain our community’s trust.
