James Charles ‘went to a dark place’ after Tati Westbrook video
James Charles in his ‘No More Drama’ video. (YouTube)
In his latest video, James Charles has addressed claims made by Tati Westbrook in her ‘Bye Sister’ video.
Published on Saturday (May 18) evening, James Charles addressed the drama with fellow YouTuber Tati Westbrook in a video titled ‘No More Lies’.
The 41-minute video saw Charles talk about the previous events, including attending Coachella with a pass provided by Westbrook’s direct business competitor and how the online response to the events have affected his life.
Charles said that he had experienced “the darkest time” he had ever experienced after Westbrook suggested he had “tried to trick a straight man into thinking he’s gay”.
“The last few weeks of my life have been the most painful time I have ever had to deal with, and my head and brain for a hot minute went to a place so dark I didn’t think I would come back,” Charles said.
US internet personality James Charles arrives for the 2019 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2019, in New York. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty)
“People always say being a social media influencer is an easy job… but I don’t think any human being ever is prepared to deal with the pain and anxiety of what it feels like for millions of people to be talking to you at one time.”
During the video, Charles addressed Westbrook’s claims of manipulating people’s sexuality. James said a 19-year-old waiter from Seattle had told him he was bisexual and there were no expectations during the date they had together.
“First of all, I’m a 19-year-old virgin. I talk about boys quite a lot on my social media networks,” he said.
“Clearly, at this point, it’s not acceptable anymore… just thought I’d bring it up, put it out into the universe, I don’t really get a lot of action.”
James Charles: ‘If anyone made it clear they weren’t interested I would apologise’
Addressing the claims that he had made advances towards straight men, including pop star Zara Larsson’s boyfriend, he said: “Whenever I found someone cute I would send them a simple message saying “hello” or a nice compliment.
“If anyone made it clear they weren’t interested I would apologise for the unwanted attention and the conversation was put to a halt immediately.”
He said that the response from Tati meant he would now avoid sending similar messages unless he was sure they were warranted.
Tati Westbrook and James Charles
Charles’ video, which has over 18 million views to date, comes days after Tati asked fans to bring the online ‘hate to an end’.
Following the release of Charles’ video, Westbrook tweeted to say she was taking an online hiatus.
“I’ve left town on a digital break to heal and pray for healing on all sides. My family made me aware of what was just posted and I’m disappointed to see it littered with so many lies and half truths. I stand by my videos – do not twist my words into what they are not, hear the message,” she said.
