James Charles has returned to his YouTube channel following a several-month hiatus.
In his latest video titled ‘An Open Conversation,’ the 22-year-old social media star sits down to discuss his problematic behaviour and the events that led to his recent cancellation.
“I wanted to have an honest conversation and hope to answer some questions, share my progress and talk about what I’ve been up to over the past couple of months with anyone who wants to listen,” he begins.
In February 2021, James was accused of sexting a 16-year-old fan via Snapchat named Isaiyah. In a two-part TikTok series, Isaiyah claimed that James added him on Snapchat, sent unsolicited nude pictures, and encouraged him to send explicit Snaps in return. Isaiyah alleges he made it clear to James that he was 16-years-old, however, James continued to ask for nude photos and attempted to FaceTime him.
This is one of many similar accusations against the influencer. The accusations against James include sexting minors, soliciting racy photos from minors, manipulating and grooming minors, as well as abusing the fan-influencer power dynamic for his own personal agenda.
On February 26, James responded by releasing a statement on Twitter denying Isaiyah’s allegations against him, followed by a since-deleted YouTube video posted April 1st addressing several of the accusers and their claims.
Amid the controversy, James was dropped by long-time partner Morphe, removed as the host of YouTube Originals Instant Influencer, and his YouTube channel was temporarily demonetised.
James starts by acknowledging his past scandals— namely, Bye Sister— and says it “sucks” that it looks like he has not learned or grown since then.
He goes on to say that he has “no problem” holding himself accountable for things he “did do,” but would like to defend himself against accusations which he insists are based in lies. He points to a Twitter thread by internet commentator Def Noodles, claiming people took advantage of his time away and “ran wild” with false accusations against him.
James defends that the majority of the accusations compiled in this Twitter thread are untrue and goes on to say that during that time, drama channels and internet culture journalists reported on several fake or photoshopped DM conversations that never even happened.
The creator says the reality is that it’s become a “trend” to post screenshots of conversations with himself and other influencers because those videos go viral.
He acknowledges the events that unfolded earlier this year were his “own fault” and agrees he needed to make changes. He says he will not be sharing receipts or evidence of these falsified messages or narratives because “there’s always going to be a group of people who refuse to believe it”.
Of the changes he’s made to his dating life, James insists he always asks for proof of age and no longer allows himself to be a “science experiment”.
“I’ve been on dates before where guys have tried to take pictures of me on the DL. It’s now gotten to a point where a lot of times if a person comes over, I’ll ask them to leave their phone at the front door,” he says. “It’s up to me to protect myself and make sure that I am now allowing myself to be so easily accessible.”
Despite his attempt to have an “open conversation,” many are criticising James for defending himself against false allegations while refusing to address the allegations that were based in truth— ones he already admitted to in his previous YouTube video which has since been removed from his channel.
Regardless, his comment section speaks for itself, with thousands of fans welcoming the creator back with open arms.