Following the latest damning allegations against the makeup guru, YouTube announces that he will not be returning as a host for season 2 of reality competition show 'Instant Influencer'.
- Apr 2, 2021
AceShowbiz - James Charles has addressed the latest allegations that he sexted minors. Taking to his YouTube page on Thursday, April 1, the popular Internet personality posted a video titled "Holding Myself Accountable" in which he admitted to his guilt.
"First and foremost, I need to say sorry," he began in the approximately 14-minute video. "I owe a massive apology to anybody I have hurt or anybody I made uncomfortable with my actions. I want to make it really, really clear that I fully understand my actions and how they are wrong. There are no excuses for them and I don't plan on making any."
James elaborated, "Within the past couple of weeks, two different people, both under the age of 18, have recently come forward saying that they had inappropriate messages from me on social media. One of them being from last year and one of them being more recent." The 21-year-old added, "Upon finding out, I was immediately embarrassed and blocked both people. "
While he initially wanted to share screenshots proving he was misled, he realized that he should've known better as an adult. "I realized the receipts and screenshots and specific details of the interaction really don't matter because I f**ked up," he shared. "I need to take accountability for my actions and most importantly apologize to the people who were hurt by them."
He went on explaining, "As an adult, it is my job and my responsibility to verify who I'm talking to and therefore there is nobody to blame for this other than myself. I'm sorry that I added you. I'm sorry that I flirted with you and I'm really sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It is completely unacceptable."
"These conversations should have never happened, point blank, period. There's no excuse for it," James acknowledged. "I trusted the information that was given to me rather than the information I could have and should have gotten myself."
James went on confirming that his video wasn't an April Fools' prank and he said he would be taking a break from social media to "further reflect and educate myself on these topics."
Following the allegations against James, YouTube has announced that makeup guru will not be returning as a host for season 2 of its reality competition show "Instant Influencer", though it wasn't explained if the decision was related to his latest scandal.
"We can confirm Season 2 of the YouTube originals series 'Instant Influencer' will take a new creative direction, including a new host," a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement to Variety. "We thank James for a great first season, and look forward to building on the show's success by expanding the opportunity to showcase a diversity of creators across the YouTube platform in our upcoming season."
James has been accused of grooming and sexting underage boys several times. Most recently, a 15-year-old boy shared on TikTok screenshots from conversations and photos he had exchanged with James. The boy claimed James blocked him and accused him of lying about his age, even though James had always been aware of his age.
Back in February, James denied allegations that he groomed a 16-year-old TikTok user and pressured him into sharing X-rated photos. "The accusation that I have groomed this person is completely false. Last week, I came across someone on my Instagram explore page, saw he followed me, and added him on snapchat," he insisted at the time. "The next morning, I woke up to several snaps from this person being excited I added him back, saying he loved me, and also lewd photos of himself in the shower. I asked how old he was right away and he told me he was 18 so I started flirting back."
However, the purported victim refuted James' version of events, alleging in a tweet, "James we both know I blocked you, you never asked for my age. After I told you I was 16 you proceeded to ask me for nudes and said it didn't matter. You called me hot and said 'I wish the timeline could speed up so you can be 18 (sic).' "
