James Charles fans burn make-up palettes as subscriber count plummets
James Charles and his Morphe make-up palette. (Getty/Twitter)
Former fans of James Charles are distancing themselves from the embattled YouTuber and his branded make-up palettes in suitably dramatic fashion.
After Charles was dumped by friend and fellow YouTuber Tati Westbrook, fans have deserted the gay make-up artist in their droves.
Westbrook fell out with Charles over his promoting a supplements brand which rivals her own, but has also accused the 19-year-old of behaving inappropriately around straight men.
Now, fans who have purchased Charles’ popular Morphe makeup palette are making a statement using the beauty product.
One decided to burn theirs, sharing a clip of a make-shift fire pit on Twitter.
What to do with your James Charles Pallete thanks to Tati Westbrook pic.twitter.com/VrzaGiTDVw
— Bd (@lolmastrblank) May 11, 2019
Another covered Charles’ signature on the £39 palette with black tape, before writing over it: “Stan Tati Westbrook.”
oops, i think i got a little something on my james charles palette- stan tati 🙂 pic.twitter.com/uOp3DETNXQ
— ًalexa was grantsarreaga (@baileysbesson) May 10, 2019
A third fan admitted: “I’ma still use tf out of my James Charles palette because it’s incredible. Will i still be supporting him? Absolutely not.”
James Charles and Tati Westbrook fall out
Westbrook announced that she no longer wants to be associated with Charles in a 43-minute YouTube video shared on Friday (May 10).
“From the time that I met him when he was 17 before he really had taken off on YouTube at all, I know that he has a way of just getting what he wants,” she said.
Their feud began on April 22, when Charles shared an Instagram post promoting Sugar Bear Hair vitamins.
“The moment that everything kicked off, he started panicking. He was texting me, and then it got increasingly demanding, and I don’t deal well with someone telling me that I need to accept an apology on their terms to fix their problems,” she added.
Tati Westbrook accuses James Charles of ‘tricking a straight man’
Westbrook also accused Charles of behaving inappropriately around straight men in the video, which has been viewed more than 34 million times
Describing an incident at a birthday dinner where she claims Charles spoke in explicit terms about a waiter, she said: “You tried tricking a straight man into thinking he’s gay yet again, and somehow you’re the victim.
“You know, it’s really disgusting to manipulate someone’s sexuality, especially when they are still emerging into adulthood and don’t have everything quite figured out.
Tati Westbrook
“You are using your fame, your power, your money to play with people’s emotions.
“You’re threatening to ruin them. You’re threatening to embarrass them. And you’re doing that to have them behave sexually in your favour, even if they’re straight.
“And you know what? That’s not okay. That behaviour’s not okay.”
James Charles subscriber count continues to fall
Charles’ YouTube channel has shed 2.2 million followers in light of Westbrook’s video, according to monitoring tool SocialBlade.
He posted his own take on the controversy on Friday (May 10), saying: “Boys have been a topic that I’ve talked a lot about on my social media journey, and I wish I hadn’t.
“I’ve been involved in a lot of very unique and strange situations that have left people confused or upset, and I learned the hard way about ways I can interact with boys I’m interested in.
“This is a conversation that I know a lot of people are uncomfortable with, and it’s something I should have been far more careful with, bringing into the public eye.”
