From transphobia to predatory behaviour: What we know of the allegations against James Charles.

Just over a week ago, beauty influencer James Charles was YouTube royalty. Now, he’s lost three million followers (and counting), with growing allegations of predatory behaviour levelled against him.

In case you missed it – James has been embroiled in a feud with fellow YouTube star and influencer Tati Westbrook, his former friend and mentor who posted a 43-minute video titled “Bye Sister” in which she lists the reasons she has ended her friendship with Charles.

While it began as a stoush over James endorsing Tati’s direct competitor, the issues run much deeper.

“Fame, power and a fat bank account will change almost anyone,” the 37-year-old said of James.

You can watch a snippet here. Post continues after video.

“How entitled do you have to be to think that you have it rough? You are a 19-year-old millionaire,” Tati, who has nearly eight million subscribers herself, added.

“Get off your high horse and have some respect. You don’t have any for the people who are in this industry and that’s the sad fact.”

One of the reasons Tati lists for “cancelling” the friendship was James’ problematic sexual comments about straight men.

During the video, she condemns Charles for his propensity to try to trick “straight men into thinking they’re gay” so he could sleep with them.

“Oh my god! You tried tricking a straight man into thinking he’s gay yet again, and somehow you’re the victim,” she said, adding, “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.

The Quicky deep dives on the world of beauty YouTuber feuds. Post continues after podcast. 

“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.”

In a matter of days, James’ Instagram following has fallen from 16.2 million to 15.3 million, with a slew of celebrities including Kylie Jenner unfollowing him.

His YouTube account has shed 500,000 viewers.

But since the video aired, Tati isn’t the only one who has criticised the influencer for his disregard of the sexual orientation of other people.

Singer Zara Larsson, 21, posted to Twitter that James had tried to reach out to her boyfriend, despite being aware he identifies as straight.

Zara retweeted a post with Tati’s clip, commenting: “I’m cackling because he hit up my boyfriend in the DMs several times knowing damn well he’s straight.”

I’m cackling cause he hit up my boyfriend in the dms several times knowing damn well he’s straight https://t.co/yzCcdw9eWt

— Zara Larsson (@zaralarsson) May 11, 2019

Prolific beauty blogger Jeffree Star then weighed in with a since-deleted tweet in which he called Charles a “danger to society.”

“There is a reason that Nathan banned James Charles from ever coming over to our home again,” he wrote. “There’s a reason why I haven’t seen him since @GlamLifeGuru‘s birthday in February. He is a danger to society. Everything Tati said is 100% true.”

As well as being accused several times of sexual predation, James has also been called transphobic.

In a collaboration video with YouTuber Jeff Wittek while discussing the Kinsey Scale, James said he's not "full gay" because he's been attracted to transgender men - seeming to suggest he doesn't consider them male.

Most recently, he equated influencers with marginalised groups in his Met Gala Instagram post.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

my first met gala ???? thank you so much @youtube for inviting me and @alexanderwangny for dressing me! ???? being invited to such an important event like the ball is such an honor and a step forward in the right direction for influencer representation in the media and I am so excited to be a catalyst. video coming tomorrow!

A post shared by James Charles (@jamescharles) on May 6, 2019 at 5:38pm PDT

James, who is currently in Australia for an event at Pacific Fair Shopping Centre on the Gold Coast, has responded to Tati with his own YouTube video, apologising for his behaviour.

"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," he said.

"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."

Read more on this topic:

• Everything you need to know about Tati Westbrook, the woman who 'cancelled' James Charles.
• In just days, influencer James Charles has lost over 1 million followers. Here's how it happened.
• James Charles lost 2 million followers overnight. He's not the first influencer to fall from grace. 
• "She lied about having cancer." Seven women share the worst ways their friendships ended.