Beauty influencer James Charles has been demonetized by YouTube in the wake of cascading sexual misconduct allegations, as Insider reports. More than 15 men and boys have come forward in recent months accusing the 21-year-old of a range of misconduct dating back to 2019, including exchanging explicit messages with minors, attempting to manipulate some into sending explicit messages back, and lying in public statements about his recollection of events.
YouTube, which counts Charles among its top personalities with more than 25.5 million subscribers, has temporarily suspended the program through which Charles reportedly makes about $25,000 per uploaded video, according to one estimate. “We can confirm that we have applied our Creator Responsibility Policy and temporarily removed James Charles from the YouTube partner program,” the platform wrote in a statement to The Guardian. The company did not specify how long the suspension would last.
The platform’s policy for creators extends beyond the content of their videos to their offline behavior. Its rules state that YouTube may take action against creators who intend to cause “malicious harm to others” or who cause “real world harm” via abuse or violence, cruelty, or fraudulent or deceptive behavior, according to Insider.
The move comes after makeup brand Morphe announced it would discontinue its collaboration with Charles in a statement posted to Twitter earlier this month. In March, YouTube told Variety that Charles would not return to host the second season of Instant Influencer, a series on the platform he produced and hosted last year.
The recent controversy began when a 16-year-old TikTok user came forward in February accusing the vlogger of sending him nude photos and pressuring him into explicit conversation. Charles responded with a lengthy statement on Twitter, writing, “The accusation that I have groomed this person is completely false” and “I would never knowingly engage with anyone underage.” Insider reports the accuser sent the publication screenshots that show his age is visible on his profile. Several other underage TikTok users have also come forward with similar allegations.
Charles has seemed to alternate between expressing contrition and defending his actions. In a YouTube video titled “holding myself accountable,” he said, “these conversations should’ve never happened, point blank period” and “there is no excuse for it.” In a later statement released on Twitter as backlash intensified, he wrote, “many other people have come forward with a series of misleading stories and false allegations” and “my legal team has begun taking action against those that have spread misinformation and/or created completely fake stories, as this has gone too far.”
In his meteoric rise from small-town makeup expert to global internet celebrity, Charles has been no stranger to scandal. In 2019, he faced a whirlwind of rebuke over allegations of betrayal from a former mentor. Though his YouTube following took an immediate nosedive, his follower count on the platform has nearly doubled since, according to The New York Times.
“I am continuing to take time away to learn, grow, and listen,” Charles wrote on Twitter in his most recent statement, “and look forward to coming back one day in the future a better version of myself.”
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