James Charles Loses 3 Million Followers Amid Wild YouTube Beauty Guru Feud
James Charles keeping losing followers after his feud with YouTuber Tati Westbrook.
The 19-year-old beauty blogger had nearly 16.5 million subscribers on Friday (May 10), but now that number has dropped by a whopping 3 million, according to the website Social Blade. As of Monday afternoon (May 13), he had 13.6 million YouTube subscribers—and unfortunately, the decline in followers shows no signs of stopping.
Meanwhile, Charles has also lost a ton of celebrity followers on Instagram, including Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Iggy Azalea, and Shawn Mendes.
So if you're wondering why he's losing so many fans, it all stems from his recent feud with Westbrook, who called him out for being unsupportive last month. It all started in April after Charles shared an endorsement for Sugar Bear Hair vitamins at Coachella, which is a competitor to Westbrook’s company, Halo Beauty.
Though she never referred to Charles by name, Westbrook retaliated on her own Instagram, telling her fans she felt "used" by a close friend. One day later, Charles posted an Instagram Story in response, apologizing for what he did.
“I want to publicly apologize to my close friend, Tati,” he said. “She has been like a mother to me since my first days in this industry and has given me more love, support, resources and advice than I could ever ask for.”
"This weekend I did an Instagram story for sleep vitamins that I’ve been taking because the brand helped me with security when the crowd around me at Coachella became unsafe," he explained, according to Newsweek. "I did not accept any money from this post.”
Then, on Friday, Westbrook posted a 43-minute video to YouTube, titled “BYE SISTER,” in which she explains her feud and why she decided to cut Charles off. In it, she also accuses him of spreading lies about her and brings up multiple examples of Charles, who identifies as gay, acting inappropriately towards straight men.
She mentions a specific time when he completely disregarded a man's sexual orientation after commenting about wanting to hook up with a straight waiter at a restaurant.
To add fuel to the fire, singers Zara Larsson and Olivia O’ Brien both revealed Charles also slid into their boyfriends' DMs despite knowing both are straight and in relationships.
Hours later, Charles responded with an 8-minute video, apologizing yet again.
"To Tati and James Westbrook [her husband], I’m sorry for everything that is going on, everything that I’ve put you through over the past few weeks,” he said. “I hate knowing that I disappointed not only [my fans], but two people that have been role models for me doing this... 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."