Well...Elle and Blair....

I BELIEVE THIS GAL!!

I'm just going to preface this by saying that i am NOT a subscriber to either Elle or Blair, nor do I know them personally; I do,however, watch their videos on occasion and as a result have recently become aware of this situation.
This whole big uproar is kind of pathetic. First of all, everybody who is complaining about Elle and Blair earning money for their videos?
NEWSFLASH: ANYBODY - NOT JUST MAKEUP GURUS - ANYBODY WHO IS A YOUTUBE PARTNER GETS MONEY FOR MAKING VIDEOS.
YouTube has certain specifications - ie, number of subscribers, channel views, etcetera -which, if an account holder (person who has a channel on youtube) meets, allows them to become a YouTube partner and EARN MONEY FOR POSTING ON YOUTUBE.
that's right, it's not just these two girls who are suddenly the subjects of such intense backlash.
Secondly, about them getting paid to promote things, or receiving free products, Elle and Blair have been nothing but honest about when they have been given products for free, or when they've been asked to review products. Not only that, but they've made it clear that they DO NOT GET PAID to do it. They have also openly discussed the fact that if they do not like a product, they will not review it, or they will tell you that they didn't like it and why. This isn't done for them to earn money - it's done for their viewers to learn about new, interesting products which subscribers or video viewers may wish to use themselves.
Finally, about the "names" controversy, they have absolutely every right not to use their real names if they so choose. The internet can be an iffy place where few people are willing to share every detail of their lives. In her video about this whole outcry, Elle discusses the fact that she legally goes by Elle, whether or not it is her real name. Seeing how they live in the south, this is not an uncommon practice; i have several relatives who go by their middle names, not their first names. Does this make them horrible, lying people? No. It makes them people who choose to be called by a different name than their legal first name.
You can't blame Elle and Blair for wanting to maintain their personal safety and set some boundaries on their YouTube channels. There are YouTubers who choose to use their real, full names, and there are those who do not. It's a matter of the personal feeling of safety - and anybody who thinks that these girls who take the time and effort and invest so much into creating these videos purely for other people - should just get a life and stop watching if it bothers them, not create a smear campaign because they don't understand.