James Charles is no stranger to scandals. As with most big-name YouTubers, even if you’re keeping up with his career, you might lose count of how many times the beauty guru has been canceled. The most recent controversy, though, has just cost him the partnership that has defined his career the most – Morphe.
The scandal earned many of his partner brands backlash for working with him, and that included Morphe. So, in a statement that he tweeted last weekend, he said that he reached out to the makeup brand and they mutually agreed to “wind down” their collaboration.
What was the scandal?
In the past couple of months, there were online discussions on Twitter and TikTok about how the YouTuber, who is 21 years old, keeps exchanging inappropriate texts with teenage boys. One of the people that sparked these discussions was a 16-year-old TikToker who said that he and James Charles exchanged inappropriate photos and texts.
James Charles then addressed the situation on Twitter, saying that the boy lied about his age when they were texting and that he will be more cautious from now on by asking for ID confirmation next time.
That wasn’t the end of it, though. The incident prompted more speculation about past allegations against Charles. Many of these involved accusations shared online about him flirting with other underage boys.
In response to the continuing discussion, Charles uploaded a video titled “holding myself accountable.” He starts the video by apologizing to everyone that was hurt and by saying that he recognizes what he did wrong and the gravity of his actions.
He then reiterated that the teenage boys that he flirted with through DMs and snaps lied about being 18. While he implied that he had receipts and screenshots, he chose not to show them. He continued to address that he understands the power imbalances involved in the situation and how he vows to be more aware of them and be better as someone with such a huge platform and a young audience.
Many are skeptical about his promises to be better, though, especially since he chose not to show the proof that he was lied to and because he made similar resolutions for change in his last big scandal in 2019.
He ended the video by saying he will be taking a hiatus from social media for a bit. “I’m going to be taking some time away to reflect and further educate myself on these topics. I think at this point it’s really important that I do so, so I am able to follow through on my word and prove to you guys that I will be a better person,” he said.
