James Charles is canceled

Over the weekend, I was in a state of confusion to find my Twitter feed full of posts about YouTube beauty guru James Charles. I couldn’t think of a reason why he was suddenly on everyone’s mind. Then I looked in deeper into the criticizing posts and understood why he was being dragged online by almost everyone.

After Tati Westbrook posted a video explaining why she cut off ties with Charles, the whole internet decided to join her. In addition to Charles supporting a vitamin brand that competes with Westbrook’s, she’s tired of his habit to try and convince straight men to enter a relationship with him. She also said that he has threatened them with his fame and then goes on to play the victim role when he calls, crying to her.

From this, people are quickly unsubscribing from Charles’ YouTube channel. Before the video was released, he had a subscriber count of over 16 million. Now, it’s only over 13 million and continues to shrink. As for Westbrook, she has gained over two million subscribers. Both figures had drastic subscriber count changes, and for good reason.

It’s about time that celebrities, or at least people somewhere around that status, face the consequences that they deserve. As far as Charles, he is simply a horrible for trying to mess with someone’s sexuality when they’re still discovering themself. For him to try and threaten them with his fame or even just constantly tell them that they’re not straight is beyond manipulative. Such acts can follow someone forever and even traumatize them.

Charles’ apology video only worsened his situation. It’s clear that the apology was something put together quick as a way to stop people from unsubscribing. It showed his true colors and how he only cares about his image. Although he could have been canceled much earlier if she spoke out sooner, I applaud Westbrook for putting their friendship aside and speaking the truth.