James Charles is the latest Youtuber to face a massive scandal. The 21-year-old makeup guru has been accused by multiple minors of sending suggestive photos and messages. As of April 5, 2021, 10 minors have come out with allegations of James making inappropriate contact with them.
James Charles Dickinson, who goes by the stage name James Charles, first went viral in 2016 his glamorous photoshoot for his high school yearbook photo. He went on to appear on the Ellen Degeneres Show and became the first male face of Covergirl Cosmetics. James has built a massive following in the beauty community, with over 25 million Youtube subscribers, 27 million followers on Instagram, and 36 million followers on Tiktok; a large portion of James’ demographic is minors.
The makeup guru has received backlash for abusing his fame and following as a means to prey on young fans. James has repeatedly been called out for messaging minors or barely 18-year-old boys and begging them to come over or to send him suggestive photos. He has offered to pay for flights for boys and even gifted a boy Coachella weekend passes who do not live close by.
In February 2021, a 16-year-old Tiktoker named Isaiyah made accusations that James was grooming and sending naked photos with the intent of reciprocation. James posted a long Twitter apology denying he knew of his age, to which Isayiah responded he was the one that blocked him, as James would not take no for an answer. James moved on to a different sixteen-year-old Tiktoker named Sawyer, who had “16” in his bio. He flirted with him publicly in his comments section, and when fans replied with Sawyer’s age, James replied “I love that I think.”
Charles apology on Twitter:
— James Charles (@jamescharles) February 26, 2021
Furthermore, James has also been known to put his gender as “Female” on dating apps, despite being a cisgender gay male, in hopes of attracting straight men, which he has said is his type. On April 1st, 2021, James uploaded a highly scrutinized apology video titled “Holding Myself Accountable”, where he admits to two of his allegations of messaging underage boys. He describes himself as being “desperate” to find love and being attracted to heterosexual men who are very young.
Many celebrities unfollowed James after these allegations including Iggy Azalea, Halsey, and Selena Gomez. Fans are pressuring the makeup brand Morphe to drop James as one of their brand ambassadors. James has a collection with Morphe: The James Charles X Morphe Palette was released in 2018, as well as a brush set. The palette is displayed proudly across Morphe shelves and even seen in Ultas. Morphe has dropped creator Jeffree Star from their brand after similar accusations, and buyers are urging Morphe to hold James to the same standard.
In addition, James Charles created his own Youtube Red Show called ‘Instant Influencer’ in 2020. This competition show followed eager makeup moguls through challenges to prove their skills. The winner of the competition received prize money, makeup collections, and a video with James. Despite James being the brain behind this series, YouTube has taken initiative and announced they are bringing the show in a new direction that includes replacing James as the host. James has not commented on this decision yet.
A petition has also been made to revoke James of his 2021 Teen Choice Award for Best Male Social Star. It has exceeded its goal of 7500 signatures, and at the time of this article is being extended to get 10,000 signatures. Right now, more people are getting the courage to speak out about uncomfortable situations with James Charles. TikToks have been going viral of messages James has sent, and so on. We urge people to speak when and if they are comfortable, and we always stand with the victims.
