James Charles burst onto the scene in 2016 after one of his makeup tutorials went viral online, and he became the first male brand ambassador for CoverGirl. Working as a makeup artist in his hometown of Bethlehem, New York, the internet star could not have imagined how his career would soar when he began uploading makeup tutorials to his YouTube channel.
After his big break with CoverGirl, James went on to launch his own clothing line, Sisters Apparel, followed by a makeup collection, the Sister Collection, in collaboration with Morphe. By early 2019, he boasted 10 million subscribers on YouTube, and today his TikTok following totals an impressive 40 million. Mixing with the stars, James's videos have featured a range of the biggest celebrities, including Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, JoJo Siwa, and Addison Rae.
However, among the highs there have also been dramatic lows, as he has faced multiple online controversies. Most recently, James was forced to apologise after he launched an explosive tirade against a former airline worker who asked him for help after losing her job. After calling her a 'lazy piece of s**t,' the star later apologised, admitting it was 'obnoxious' and he 'hurt a lot of people.'
Spirit Airlines Backlash
James sparked backlash after he publicly responded to a woman who messaged him with a GoFundMe link asking for support after she lost her job at Spirit Airlines, following their shutdown which resulted in 170,000 job losses. In the now-deleted video, James said: 'I just got a DM on here from a girl that said, "Good morning, James. I know you'll probably never see this, but if you could just take one minute to read it would really mean a lot to me. I'm really struggling right now because Spirit Airlines just filed for bankruptcy and I have lost my job. Here's a GoFundMe link. Any donations help."'
Laughing, he responded: 'I'm sure they do, sweetheart. I'm sure they do. You know what else would help you? Getting another job. Yeah, try that.' He continued: 'Because in the time that it took you to copy and paste the same f*** ass message to myself, who you don't follow, by the way, and probably a hundred other influencers and celebrities, you could've applied for a hundred other jobs. But you didn't, 'cause you're a lazy piece of s***, and you're entitled, and you think that influencers and celebrities should fund your life for you. Why would I ever help you?'
The video sparked major controversy as fans took to the comments accusing him of acting entitled and not recognising his privilege as an influencer. One penned: '"Welcome to the real world" yet he doesn't even exist in that world as an influencer. He is so beyond out of touch and is acting like he understands the struggle.' After deleting the clip, James took to TikTok with an apology, saying: 'It was rude, it was obnoxious, it was privileged, and most importantly, it was completely f***ing unnecessary.' He added: 'It was obnoxious, and I shamed her for asking for help in a situation where she was clearly struggling, and this could have been her absolute last resort. I feel awful because that wasn't my intention. And I really hurt a lot of people. I'm super sorry, especially to the woman from Spirit Airlines.'
Tati Westbrook Feud
Back in 2019, a then-19-year-old James lost millions of subscribers – including several celebrities – in just days, after his bitter feud with fellow makeup artist Tati Westbrook was made public. His career weathered a storm after his former mentor criticised him in a 43-minute video in which she listed the reasons she decided to end their years-long friendship. After James chose to promote another makeup company over hers, Tati, 39, accused him of making advances on men he knew to be straight, manipulating others' sexuality, and speaking crassly about sex in front of her friends and family.
One year later, Tati released a tear-filled apology, admitting that she put out the false rumours about her former friend's private life after being fed 'poisonous lies' by fellow YouTubers Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson. Tati in her 40-minute apology video said: 'Believing those lies and letting myself be gaslit into making that video is one of the biggest regrets of my life. The information they were giving me was terrifying. I was told there were a lot of victims that were going to come forward.' While Tati alluded to the fact that her feud with James was over, Shane took to Instagram Live while viewing Tati's apology and branded her a 'liar'.
James and Tati had enjoyed a years-long friendship, with Tati driving traffic towards James's pages and praising him in videos. But their feud began when James attended the Coachella music festival in April 2019 and promoted Sugar Bear Hair vitamins on his Instagram Story. The company – which promises to strengthen and add shine to hair – is in direct competition with Tati's supplements, Halo Beauty, a brand James said previously wasn't the right fit for his young followers. Tati, who helped bolster and grow James's career, was left frustrated and posted videos in her own Instagram Stories about feeling 'betrayed'. 'When you do so much for people in your life and they not only don't return the favour, but they just don't even see you ... I'm just so upset. I feel really used,' she said through tears, but didn't mention James by name.
Yet James guessed that the anonymous 'betrayal' she referred to was his own, and released a statement on his own Stories. 'I want to publicly apologise to my close friend Tati,' he said. 'She has been like a mother to me since my first days in this industry and has given me more love, support, resources, and advice than I could ever ask for. This weekend I did an Instagram Story for vitamins that I've been taking because the brand helped me with security when the crowd around me at Coachella became unsafe. I did not accept any money from this post.' Whether it was paid or not, beauty bloggers like Gabriel Zamora jumped to James's defence, saying that Tati had no right to be angry over the vitamins. This is ultimately what led Tati to release a lengthy video entitled 'Bye Sister' in May 2019 – the damning tirade that sparked a huge follower loss for her former protégé. The pair have remained estranged since.
Sexting Scandal
In 2021, James came under fire once again after he publicly admitted to sending sexually explicit messages to two 16-year-old boys. The makeup guru made his admission on video in response to allegations he had sent the boys sexually explicit snaps and messages. In his confessional video, James said he was taking 'full responsibility' for his actions after two boys under the age of 18 alleged that he sent them explicit photos and sexually explicit messages. The teenagers alleged that James solicited nude photographs from them.
'Today's video is going to be from the heart and I'm going to focus on what happened - all of the conclusions that I've come to - and most importantly holding myself accountable for my own actions,' he began. 'First and foremost I need to say sorry. I owe a massive apology to anybody that I've hurt or anybody that I made uncomfortable with my actions.' He then said he added both boys on Snapchat and 'asked how old they were right away, was told that they were 18, believed them, engaged in flirty conversation and then later on found out that they were 16'. James said he was 'embarrassed' and immediately 'blocked both people'. He also noted that his immediate reaction was 'so stupid' and after he 'self-reflected' he realised that 'I f****d-up'. 'I needed to take accountability for my actions and more importantly apologise to the people that were affected by them,' James said. 'These conversations should've never happened... and I take full responsibility for that.' 'I trusted the information that was given to me rather than the information I could have and should have gotten myself,' he said, referencing videos made by the accusers. 'There's no one to blame for this other than myself.'
One month earlier, James vehemently denied the accusations in a statement shared on his Twitter account. Posting a lengthy statement, the social media sensation insisted he immediately asked the person in question's age and was assured he was 18, only to finally learn he was just 16 – leading him to promptly sever all contact. He wrote: 'There's a video going around about me on TikTok and Twitter of a guy calling me a groomer and I want to address it right away. The accusation that I have groomed this person is completely false. Last week, I came across someone on my Instagram explore page, saw he followed me, and added him on snapchat. The next morning, I woke up to several snaps from this person being excited I added him back, saying he loved me, and also lewd photos of him in the shower. I asked how old he was right away and he told me he was 18 so I started flirting back.' James continued: 'In the excitement of meeting someone I thought could be potentially great, I didn't ask for a copy of his ID or passport. It's now clear, based on the video he uploaded, he was taking photos of me with another device, and had an ulterior motive from the beginning. Later in the day, he said a few things that made me question the validity of his original age answer and when I asked him to confirm his age once again, he admitted he was 16.'
While James has maintained that his accusers told him they were 18 at the time, bosses at YouTube removed his channel from its Partner Program, blocking his ability to make money from the popular video platform. In a statement to Business Insider, YouTube said it applied its 'creator responsibility policy' to his channel and did not specify how long the restrictions will remain in place. YouTube's creator-responsibility policy states: 'If we see that a creator's on - and/or off-platform behavior harms our users, community, employees or ecosystem, we may take action to protect the community.' Additionally, YouTube retains its right to take action against creators who intentionally cause 'malicious harm to others' or who cause 'real world harm' through such actions as abuse or violence, cruelty, or fraudulent or deceptive behaviour.
Reflecting on the events two years later in an interview with Cosmopolitan, he said: 'I can't even begin to explain to you how bad that week of my life was. I was crying myself to sleep every single night. I was sitting there in bed staring at my phone. I wanted to kill myself. I wasn't talking to anybody.' The allegations sparked more complaints against James, and soon social media was filled with screenshots he had allegedly conducted with male fans. While a few were the serious incidents mentioned, others he said were 'completely fake' and came from consensual conversations. James has never legally been charged with engaging inappropriately with a minor.
