Drama is afoot in the beauty community today, and as per usual these days, it's all because of James Charles.
Just last week, Charles had to issue a public apology after fans pointed out some very transphobic comments he made in a video. He tried to clarify that he wasn't "full gay" on the Kinsey Scale because he's been attracted to women and trans men in the past. His statements (though accidentally) unfortunately implied that he doesn't view trans men as… well, men, and queer communities on the internet did not take kindly to that.
Just prior to that, his use of photo-editing apps came under intense scrutiny on Reddit, where users claimed that he "fakes" his makeup skills and contributes to unrealistic image standards, especially for young girls.
This week, he's caught up in yet another controversy, and it can be traced right back to Tati Westbrook crying on camera.
Y'all know Tati Westbrook and her beauty brand, Halo Beauty.
Westbrook, an OG beauty YouTuber with millions of followers, launched her own supplements brand in 2017. Though it debuted with a handful of criticisms and controversies, Westbrook insists the brand and its two staple products are going strong — in fact, she recently changed her YouTube video output so she'd have more time to work on it.
On Monday, Westbrook tearfully shared an Instagram Story from her studio.
In the video, she recounts having a "rough one," and tears up about feeling lonely in the beauty community. Like many of us do, she lamented about the false images and friendships that social media often lead to. It sounded to many like she was referring to one or a couple of very specific people.
"Everybody says what they need to say and uses who they need to use, and I have had about enough," she said in the story. "It's not right."
Westbrook concluded the tearful video by assuring her followers that while "Hollywood" is fake, she is determined to keep it real by letting her followers see her cry and know her true feelings, even when they aren't exactly positive. Naturally, the internet immediately scrambled to find out what — or who — caused this outbreak.
Internet sleuths couldn't help but notice that Westbrook's video came just hours after long-time friend James Charles promoted Sugar Bear Hair on his Instagram Story.
Why is that even remotely important? Sugar Bear Hair is a major competitor to Westbrook's Halo Beauty supplements brand. Given that Charles and Westbrook have been publicly hanging out and collaborating for years now, fans were taken aback by the fact that Charles would promote another brand's vitamin rather than Halo's.
And that's when internet finger-pointing began.
"So you sold out tati for a sugarbear sponsorship. I've never seen such a fake person," one Twitter user posted in direct response to Charles. It appears most people are under the impression that Charles signed some sort of paid contract with Sugar Bear Hair, thereby ceasing his promotion of Halo.
That's not how sponsorship deals work, but OK.
As Twitter is wont to do, it began hurling insults and unverified claims in Charles' direction.
"I honestly know minus one subscriber won’t hurt @jamescharles but what he did to Tati is pretty terrible," this user wrote. "Friends support each other, especially friends like her that have supported you from the start. Her feelings are totally valid."
There are plenty of reasons to cancel James Charles, and I can't believe this is what's doing it for some people?
Some went so far as to unfollow Charles entirely over his alleged treatment of Westbrook.
"i used to stan you but watching how you made it dirty to Tati, I just can’t support you anymore, that’s awful for a friend," one user wrote.
The main consensus across Twitter is that Charles is a terrible friend, even though Westbrook never so much as mentioned his name in her video.
And, OF COURSE, Jeffree Star had to tweet something very shady at the exact moment this drama began to surface.
As it usually does, his commentary sparked thousands of likes, retweets, and comments demanding to know the tea. His mentions are now also flooded with mentions of Westbrook, her Instagram Story, and Charles' duplicitous nature.
Charles issued an apology to Westbrook over his Instagram Story on Tuesday, seemingly to confirm that the Twitter rumor mill was accurate this time.
"I want to publicly apologize to my close friend Tati," he began. "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."
"I did not accept any money for the post. As most of you know, Tati has a vitamin brand which I take on a daily basis, but I did not think about the competition, which was a major oversight. I've supported Tati both online and off like she has done for me and am devastated that I hurt someone that I truly love and have endless respect for."
Though I'm sure this whole drama will blow over quickly, there's still one major flaw in Charles' apology.
If he didn't accept any money from Westbrook's competitors, then why did he feel the need to include "#ad" in the top left corner of his promotional Instagram Story for Sugar Bear Hair? It does, admittedly, look rather suspect.
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