Furious former fans of YouTuber James Charles fans are lashing out at the 19-year-old by burning his beauty products in the wake of a bitter online scandal that has seen his reputation dragged through the mud by multiple influencers.
The teenage beauty guru has faced furious backlash over the past few days after getting embroiled in a feud with fellow YouTube star Tati Westbrook, that has seen him accused him of deceit, backstabbing – and even manipulating straight men into romances with him.
Now, his former fans are voicing their disgust over his alleged behavior by defacing and destroying a $39 eyeshadow palette he released in collaboration with beauty brand Morphe – with at least one person dramatically lighting the product on fire.
Drama queens: Some former fans are destroying their James Charles palettes following his public controversy, with at least one burning the makeup in the trash
Dumping it out: Another tossed her palette her cat’s littler box
FeudJames, 19, has come under fire following accusations by his former friend and mentor Tati Westbrook
In a video that has been viewed over 60,000 times on Twitter, a person is seen tossing the palette into a metal trash can, before using a lighter to set the whole thing on fire
‘What to do with your James Charles Pallete thanks to Tati Westbrook,’ the enraged fan, California-based Twitter user @lolmastrblank, wrote.
Others found slightly less dramatic ways to destroy their palettes, throwing them in order to break the eyeshadow inside or tossing them in their cat’s litter box.
But most have found a way to show their disapproval without destroying something they spent hard-earned money on
Many have simply covered up the branding on the front, DIYing new decorations for the outsides of the palette.
A few have covered James’ name with Tati’s, writing that they ‘stan’ the 37-year-old who once mentored James before publicly ending their relationship this month.
DIY: Most people have shown their displeasure by simply covering up his name on the front
Something new to look at: People have covered the outside of the palette with celebrity pictures
Cool: Snoop Dogg has been a surprisingly popular choice for the DIY projects
Boy band love: Another fan decided to make her palette BTS-themed
Rebelling: The former fans seem to feel more comfortable using his palette if they can pretend its not his
Others have printed out images of celebrities to cover the front, including Snoop Dogg and BTS.
‘Instead of destroying my James Charles palette, I spiced it up a little bit,’ explained one.
‘Bought the palette a long time ago but after hearing what he did i became so sick of james charles so i changed my palette into shrek themed,’ another former fan tweeted.
Some simply scribbled ‘cancelled’ across the front, andin one case, someone plastered Tati and James’ faces on boxers, making it look like Tati is punching James in the face.
Of course, not everyone is so concerned with erasing James from their makeup boxes.
A few people have tweeted their excitement that the lack in demand for his products means they’ll likely go on sale soon.
His or hers: James and Tati’s feud has had many people taking sides — with most going for Team Tati
Oh snap: Some even scrawled Tati’s name over the front of their James Charles palettes
That’ll do it: One fan just put tape across the front with the word ‘cancelled’
Swift justice: The Tati ‘stans’ have made their feelings known about the whole thing
Middle school madness: People of all ages have been taking sides
‘Me walking into tj maxx to get the james charles palette for $7.99 in a month,’ joked one, including a GIF of an excited contestant on America’s Next Top Model.
‘The whole world: James Charles is cancelled. Me: I hope this means his palette goes on sale because all shit aside it’s a pretty palette and I wouldn’t mind owning one,’ wrote another.
So far, the palette is still full price on Morphe’s website.
The brand may be hoping that the backlash dies down, despite how dramatic a turn things have taken for James.
James had 16.57 million YouTube subscribers before the feud was made public. But as of 10:30 ET Tuesday morning, he is down to just 13.54 — a three million follower drop, with the number still steadily declining.
Tati, meanwhile, has seen her popularity grown. The video she posted on May 10 that details her reasons for the feud has been viewed nearly 40 million times. She has also gained about four million followers, boosting her subscriber count to 9.15 million.
So what, exactly, inspired people to abandon the James in droves?
Score! A few people, though, see this as an opportunity to get good makeup for cheap
Those are expecting the palette to go on sale soon, anticipating less demand
In Tati’s video, she not only slammed him for being disloyal, but also charged that he would make explicitly sexual comments about men he knew to be straight as well as manipulate straight men into sexual relationships.
And she isn’t the only one either: After her video was posted, singer Zara Larsson commented to share her own experience, saying James hit on her boyfriend Brian H. Whittaker.
‘I’m cackling cause he hit up my boyfriend in the dms several times knowing damn well he’s straight,’ she wrote.
Later, she amended the comment: ‘I feel like deleting this cause I checked and it wasn’t several times, only one dm and some comments under pictures.’
Singer Olivia O’Brien also tweeted in response to what Zara said about James flirting with her boyfriend, tweeting: ‘Same, sister. S***’s wild.’
But the entire drama has been a long, winding story about two people who used to be close.
James and Tati had enjoyed a years-long friendship, with Tati driving traffic toward James’ pages and praising him in videos.
But at Coachella this year, James shared a sponsored post promoting Sugar Bear Hair, a supplement that competes with Tati’s own brand, Halo Beauty. Tati found this to be unsupportive, especially given that James had promised to have her back in the past.
Sparring: Beauty guru James Charles has lost about three million followers in just days after a bitter feud with Tati was made public
The feud began when James promoted Sugar Bear Hair vitamins — a competitor of Tati’s own supplement brand
Singer Zara Larsson also said James ‘hit up my boyfriend in the dms several times knowing damn well he’s straight’ (Zara pictured with boyfriend)
‘We’ve had plenty of conversations at length about other influencers doing the same deal, and him not liking Sugar Bear Hair, and dragging the other people, and being like, “Tati, I’m on your side, you’ve got me, I will support you, yes mom, you’ve got my loyalty,”‘ she said.
She added: ‘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. And I’ve always just blamed it on his age.’
‘Fame, power, and a fat bank account will change almost anyone,’ she said, adding that she ‘really tried’ to be a good influence in James’ life but failed.
‘I don’t think there’s any getting through to you and I don’t want to be friends with you, I don’t want to be associated with you, and I need to say that really publicly so that this chapter can just be closed.’
She had quite a few other scathing remarks.
‘His ego is so big that he will think that everything is about him,’ she said, adding: ‘Get off your high horse and have some respect. You don’t have any for the people who’ve been in this industry longer than you and that’s the sad fact.’
Heartbroken: Tati was frustrated by James’ promo posts and posted about feeling ‘betrayed’ shortly after
So over: As the drama became fodder for fans, Tati uploaded a more planned-out video in which she discussed the reasons she is ending her relationship with James
But it wasn’t just selfishness and lack of professional respect that upset Tati. Midway through her video, she shared how James would use sexuality to manipulate people.
‘He said some things, telling me about a situation that happened in Seattle at my birthday, and it literally made me want to vomit,’ she said.
‘Oh my god, you tried to trick 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 quite have everything figured out.
‘You are using your fame, your power, your money to play with people’s emotions,’ she said. ‘You’re threatening to ruin them, you’re threatening to embarrass them, and you’re doing that to have them behave sexually in your favor, even if they’re straight.
‘And that’s not OK, that behavior is not OK, whether you’re a woman, a man, gay, straight, bi, whatever sexual orientation you are, that is your call. It is not someone else’s to take, it is not someone else’s to play with… and how dare you laugh about it.
‘Cracking someone’s sexuality is a not an escape room,’ she said.
Damage control: James responded to the video with a quickly prepared eight minute segment in which he apologized for his actions
Oh no! James and Kylie Jenner (pictured) collaborated on a video together this year
She said he also acted inappropriately at her birthday dinner, ‘talking in detail about things [he] wanted to do to the waiter.’
‘And when I said, “James, he’s straight,” your response was, “Doesn’t matter, I’m a celebrity.” So freaking gross. And you said that in front of my family.
For his part, James posted his own video in which he apologized for his actions.
‘I hate knowing that I disappointed not only my fans, but two people that have been role models for me doing this,’ he said, referencing Tati and her husband.
‘What sucks the most is that I know there’s nothing I can say or do to ever earn that friendship or trust back but I don’t blame them for it.
‘A lot of the time when I’ve had to address things in the past, I’ve acted out of impulse and I’ve gone off and tried to pull receipts or facts or screenshots and play the victim and I’m not doing that today, I’m not. That is all I have to say, I’m sorry.’