Is This The Reason Why James Charles Is Gaining Back Followers?

From Seventeen

• YouTuber James Charles has been losing thousands of subscribers since May 7.

• Fans are speculating his subscriber count losses might be due to his recent drama.

• James has recently made a few comments that have turned people off.

With the recent splash he's been making in headlines, it's been hard to miss James Charles. This year the beauty vlogger landed an invite to the exclusive Met Gala. But shortly after basking in his moment, all hell broke loose. Not only was James facing criticism for his Met Gala appearance and outfit styled by Alexander Wang, but to make matters worse, YouTuber Tati Westbrook uploaded a video publicly cancelling James and their friendship. James is no stranger to controversy, but this latest one has captured the attention of almost the entire world. Here's everything you need to know about the James Charles/Tati Westbrook feud.

On May 18, James Charles finally broke his silence by releasing an 41-min video addressing all the drama.

While James Charles may have been the center of the YouTuber drama that's taken over the past few days, he remained relatively out of the spotlight until now. James has now spoken up in a new video titled "No More Lies" and he came with receipts. In the video, James addresses all the allegations about his behavior, including his relationship with SugarBearHair, what really happened between him and the waiter from Seattle and the comments about his alleged predatory behavior.

The first claim James refuted in his video is that his relationship with SugarBearHair started before Coachella. In the video, James shows screenshots that allegedly prove that the promo post was in return for security at Coachella Weekend 2. He also called Tati's claim that he never promoted her company Halo Beauty, untrue. To prove his claim, James created a mini-montage of all the times he's mentioned Tati's vitamin brand.

To address the claims on sexual misconduct, James said he would never use his power to manipulate a man. "I am a 19-year-old virgin. I have never and will never use my fame, money or my power to manipulate or get any sexual actions from a guy,” he said. “That is disgusting. That is not me. The fact that Tati brought this up blows my mind." In the video, James explains that all contact he had with Sam was consensual, showing screenshots of messages between the two. He said that Jeffree Star's claims that Sam was trapped in a hotel room with him were not true.

In the video, James also expresses his discontent for Jeffree and Tati bringing his family into the feud, claiming that his brother Ian Jeffrey's tweet was not directed at Jeffree Star, but at someone that was bullying him.

Though Tati did not make a video in response to James, she did send out a few tweets that said James's video was full of lies and half-truths. "I've left town on a digital break to heal & pray for healing on all sides. My family made me aware of what was just posted & I'm disappointed to see it littered with so many lies & half truths. I stand by my videos - do not twist my words into what they are not, hear the message," she said.

Jeffree Star also posted a reaction to James's video, claiming that the YouTuber feud brought him to a dark place. "I know a lot of you are sick and tired of hearing about the subject. I think things are getting crazy dangerous and we need to have a conversation. Yesterday James uploaded a video. There was mentions of me in there. For hours yesterday, it took me back to the old Jeffree and I was in a very dark place," he said. Jeffree had teased that he would be pulling receipts on James, but he ultimately didn't. Instead, Jeffree said that he regretted inserting himself in the drama. "I want to say that I regret them. I don’t regret much in my life, but I regret hitting the send button because they were bigger and louder than I ever imagined and it made things worse. Everyone is so used to Jeffree being the most controversial person in the beauty community. Before fully accusing an individual of doing anything I need more facts," Jeffree said.

Now, it seems the feud is officially over because all parties have agreed to stop airing it out publicly. Tati said she had been in touch with James through an intermediary and that the conversation will continue privately. She also deleted the "Bye Sister" video from her YouTube feed.

James also tweeted that he hopes to speak to both Tati and Jeffree in the future, calling for positivity on all sides.

As of May 16, James Charles YouTube account is no longer losing subscribers.

Is James Charles gaining back all the subscribers he's lost? According to Social Blade, his subscriber count is going back up in number. In the past two days, he's gained about 30,000 new subscribers though that number continues to fluctuate.

Some people on Twitter are speculating that it could be because of Tati's new video.

On May 16, Tati uploaded a new video to her YouTube channel called "Why I Did It." In the video, an emotional Tati announced she's taking a break from her channel and social media, but also called for people to treat James less harshly.

Tati said she didn't expect her video to reach the magnitude it did. "When I made that video, I thought I would be the one that would take the hit. I thought I was going against millions and millions of subscribers and that might separate part of the internet, my 5 million [subscribers], wold be affected and I would be the one losing subscribers for speaking up and I was going against someone with a lot more power."

Tati said her video was a last ditch effort to try to get through to James, though she reiterated she still needs space from their relationship. She also said she still loves him and wants the hate against him to stop. "I want to share with you guys that I do really want the hate to stop. I want the picking sides and the abusive memes and the language and all of that. I really hope on both sides it can stop. That is not why I made the video. And I feel like I wanted to share with you guys why I did," she said. "This was really a wake-up call and it was me trying to reach someone who I found completely unreachable and I had been trying to deliver the same message so many times because this wasn't just about one thing."

Though it still hasn't happen, Tati said she wants to have a face-to-face meeting with James. So, though this feud is dying down, it's still not officially over, though judging by James's new subscribers, it seems like the internet is in a pretty forgiving space right now.

Since May 7, when he uploaded his Met Gala video, James's YouTube channel lost nearly 3 million subscribers.

James Charles has now lost about three million followers, according to his stats on SocialBlade.com, since he uploaded his video about his experience at the Met Gala on May 7. But the most dramatic losses happened after Tati Westbrook uploaded "Bye, Sister," her video cancelling James. While James's numbers went dramatically down in the past few days, Tati gained more than two million new subscribers since her upload. You can say the internet catches on to things fast and that's why people were quick to notice that James had been losing thousands of subscribers by the day. Several YouTubers also uploaded videos addressing the topic and others decided to sound off on Twitter.

What was Tati's video about?

Here's the breakdown on their rift. On April 22, James used his Instagram platform to promote Sleep Vitamins by Sugarbear. The problem is that Sugarbear is a competing beauty brand to Tati's own company. Tati is the founder of a vitamin beauty brand called Halo Beauty. Right after the incident, people felt James betrayed Tati by doing promo for a rival company.

Though Tati never mentioned James's name, she made a video where she was moved to tears talking about how hurt she felt, seemingly referring to James's betrayal. James did apologize for the incident, though. He uploaded the apology to his Instagram stories, saying that his post was an oversight.

Though Tati didn't call James out in her first video, she completely went for it in her second. Tati uploaded a 43-minute video to YouTube called, "Bye Sister." Sister– what James calls his subscribers. Ohhhh, the shade. In the video, Tati said that there was no way she could continue being friends with James.

"Fame, power and a fat bank account will change almost anyone," Tati said. "If you don't have people that will tell you to your face that you are doing the wrong things, you will change."

Tati said she tried to be a voice of reason for James and that the damage between them is because of more than just vitamins.

"I tried to be that person for you, James. I really tried," Tati said. "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 very publicly so that chapter can be closed."

Who else has gotten involved in the James/ Tati feud?

It seems like Tati got the ball rolling on people publicly calling out James. Since her upload on May 10, a few more people have come forward with their own stories about James's alleged behavior.

Singer Zara Larrson called out James for trying to slide into her boyfriend's DMs. On Twitter, Zara retweeted a clip of Tati talking about James's alleged predatory behavior in her "Bye, Sister" video. In the clip, Tati says, "You tried tricking a straight man into thinking he's gay yet again, and somehow you're the victim," she said. "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. 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 favor, even if they're straight. And you know what? That's not okay." Zara retweeted the clip with the comment, "I'm cackling cause he hit up my boyfriend in the dms several times knowing damn well he's straight." Though, she later clarified that it was only one DM and a few Instagram comments under her boyfriend's photos.

Jeffree Star also got in on the drama, seemingly taking Tati's side. Jeffree said that his boyfriend, Nathan Schwandt, banned James Charles from coming over to their home. He even called James a "danger to society," saying that everything Tati said about James is "100% true."

James's brother, Ian Jeffrey who's appeared in some of James's videos before, then took to Twitter to defend his brother saying "Why does everyone act so tough on the internet." Jeffree then replied to Ian's tweet saying, "Why is your brother a predator?? Why’d you really move back to NYC? Exactly. Shut the f**k up."

It's also suspected that Jeffree Star may have cut ties with James's clothing line, Sisters Apparel. Jeffree Star is the owner of Killer Merch, the company responsible for distributing James's merch. Sisters Apparel used to be listed on the list of partners on the Killer Merch website, but now it's disappeared.

YouTuber Nikita Dragun has also gotten involved in this whole mess. Nikita took to Twitter to defend James after Tati accused him of working out a contract with SugarBearHair. But Nikita said that wasn't the case. She uploaded screenshots of texts between her and James that allegedly prove the James's promo post was in fact arranged during Coachella, in exchange for security during the event.

But people have been accusing Nikita of creating fake texts, though she said that's definitely not the case.

In a tweet, she said the only thing she has time to edit is her waist.

Vlogger Gabriel Zamora also got involved in defense of James and claimed that Tati only told half the story in her video. He also claimed she has no right to feud with James over his SugarBearHair post because Tati made a video with James Halbert, who has also been involved in a feud with James.

YouTuber Shane Dawson also took to social media to seemingly express his views on the James Charles drama. Shane said he felt like he had "tea poisoning" from seeing all the drama and urged his followers to look at the positive side of life.

Other celebrities also made it clear what side they were on by unfollowing James from their social media channels.

How has James responded?

It seems all the drama has definitely affected James because he showed up hours late to a scheduled meet-and-greet in Australia. The fans that showed up at his pop-up shop to see him were pretty pissed.

At around the same time James was scheduled to appear at the meet-and-greet, he also uploaded an 8-minute apology video to YouTube titled, "tati." In the video, James apologized for how he's treated people on social media. "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,” he said. “That is all I have to say, I’m sorry." He also delivered apologies to Tati and her husband. "To Tati and James Westbrook, I'm sorry for everything that is going on– everything that I've put you through over the past few weeks," he said. Tati hasn't responded and it's probably safe to say she probably won't.

James hasn't publicly commented since then, but paparazzi did catch him at at the airport in Brisbane. His expression was emotionless as he was heckled with questions.

What other controversies has James been involved in?

The Tati drama isn't all that's happened. In the past few weeks, James has also made several comments that have rubbed people the wrong way. First, he made an offensive comment about transgender men that seemingly implied that they were in the same category as cisgender women. James did apologize for making the statement.

A few weeks later, James made another comment that rubbed people the wrong way. James called his Met Gala appearance a step for "influencer representation." Some people said that in his comment, James was trying to compare influencers to an oppressed, marginalized group.

But that's not all that's gotten James in trouble. James even turned off some of his most loyal followers after announcing his Sisters Tour, a 25-city tour across the U.S. where people can come and meet him. While that definitely seemed like good news, people were completely turned off by the ticket prices.

Then there's also the whole Met Gala outfit incident. People feel that he did not do the theme justice and that someone like Jeffree Star may have been better suited to land an invite. Though to be fair, James's look was supposedly picked and designed by Alexander Wang.

The sum of all those incidents could have contributed to James's subscriber loss. One YouTube user commented that it only started after James posted his latest video because seeing his new activity may have reminded them to unsubscribe, if it was something they had already been thinking about.

How has this all affected James's career?

As James Charles continues to lose subscribers, he also loses money on potential brand deals that may never happened now that brands might be hesitant to approaching him, according to Tagger Media. YouTuber, Peter Monn, even questioned whether this was the beginning of James's own "Dramageddon." If you're familiar with the world of influencers, then you remember the Dramageddon of 2018, when YouTubers Manny Mua, Laura Lee, Gabriel Zamora and Nikita Dragun lost a ton of followers after people found offensive social media posts from their pasts on their channels. People started digging into their social media channels after the group posted some subs directed at Jeffree Star, who had just been outed for some past racist posts on his own social media. The YouTubers all lost credibility, but Laura probably had it worst. According to StayHipp.com, she lost more than 500,000 YouTube subscribers and many of her endorsement deals.

James isn't there yet, but his recent drama seems to be turning some people away. Though James might be missing out on future deals, his views have gone up, so unless YouTube demonetizes his videos, James is still making money.

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