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Nikita Dragun Reveals Why She Really Took a Pause From YouTube

By Paige Strout Sep 30, 2022 4:00 PMTags
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Watch: Nikita Dragun HOOKED UP With Her School BULLY

Nikita Dragun may be one of YouTube's biggest stars, but even she needs to take a break sometimes.

The beauty influencer, businesswoman and model has been on a hiatus from the platform for over a year, posting her most recent makeup tutorial in June 2021. She broke down the real reason behind her absence on E! News' digital series DRIVE!.

"Things just started getting a little crazy," she exclusively told host Austin J. Mills. "I've always been very unfiltered and shared all aspects of my life. But as the attention and the followers and all that other stuff started growing, it's like you're subjected to so much more than just a couple comments."

Over the years, she's become an expert at dealing with negative backlash. The star has amassed over 3.55 million subscribers on YouTube, 9 million followers on Instagram and 14.5 million followers on TikTok by posting makeup tips and tricks, as well as sharing her journey as a transgender woman in the beauty industry.

Don't miss new episodes of E!'s digital series DRIVE! every Monday at 8 a.m. PT on E! News' YouTube Channel.

Her secret to blocking out the haters? "I just say, 'If I survived high school, I could literally survive anything,'" the 26-year-old shared. "I've been called every name in the book and there's really nothing that surprises me anymore. But every now and again, I'll have a clapback moment."

Driving around in her Corvette Stingray, Austin asked the social media star the same question he asks all of his DRIVE! guests: "What would you say drives you to succeed?" And her response was simply iconic.

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"I just wanna be a badass bitch," she said. "I just want to make every possibility and everything that anyone has ever told me I couldn't do a reality. And I've just always been super hungry to achieve and just prove people wrong, but also prove myself wrong."

And she has certainly proved her childhood haters wrong, having also launched her successful makeup brand Dragun Beauty in 2019. But there's one there's one thing Nikita did since rising to fame that she calls the ultimate "power move."

"I ended up hooking up with my school bully," Nikita revealed, to which Austin shockingly responded, "That is probably the biggest flex."

Hear more from Nikita and see her and Austin take a chicken finger food stop at Raising Cane's in the full clip above.

Tune in to new episodes of DRIVE! Mondays at 8 a.m. on E! Online and E! News' YouTube page.

Catch up on episodes of E!'s digital series DRIVE! on E! News' YouTube Channel.