While a handful of men in makeup are starting make names for themselves as cosmetics models, men and boys who paint their faces are more often bullied than offered gigs as brand ambassadors.
That’s so far been true for 12-year-old Welsh singer Reuben de Maid, who appears on the upcoming episode of “Little Big Shots,” a children’s variety show hosted by Steve Harvey.
The rising star performed the classic ballad “And I am Telling You I am Not Going” on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Thursday and sat down to chat with Ellen about his career aspirations. He told the host that he’s been singing since he could talk. But there’s one thing he loves as much as singing, and that’s makeup.
“Ever since I was 8, I was so interested [in makeup],” he said, explaining that he learned what he knows from watching online makeup tutorials.
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De Maid said he wears low-key makeup to school, and is often harassed for it.
“I used to get bullied a lot,” he told Ellen. “In my drama group I used to get hit, punched, and kicked.”
“I tried to, like, brush it off, but brushing it off doesn’t work,” de Maid recalled. “I stood up to them and then I told my mom, and it all stopped because they transferred me to another school.”
Ellen praised the boy’s courage.
“Well good for you for not stopping being who you are, that’s really tough” said Ellen, who recently marked the 20th anniversary of publicly coming out as a lesbian. “The fact that just because you want to wear makeup, that somebody thinks that they have to hit you, or even call you names — it’s not hurting anybody, it’s what you want to do, and you look fantastic.”
Listen to de Maid talk about his hopes for the future, including his own makeup brand, below.
