James Charles YouTube followers: Make-up artist loses 2.5 million subscribers over Tati Westbrook drama
James Charles loses 3 million YouTube followers. (YouTube)
YouTube make-up sensation James Charles has lost 2.5 million subscribers after fellow YouTuber Tati Westbrook ended their friendship.
Charles’s subscriber count now stands at 13.5 million, down from a peak of 16 million.
According to social media tracking site Social Blade, Charles has lost 2,576,835 subscribers in the last 30 days.
The most significant drops came after Tati Westbrook posted a YouTube video on Friday (May 10) calling out her former friend Charles for a number of alleged transgressions, including inappropriate advances towards straight men.
Watch Tati Westbrook’s video below:
James Charles YouTube followers count after Tati video
Charles lost 538,883 followers on Friday, the day Westbrook posted her video ending their friendship.
On Saturday (May 11), a day after the video was shared, Charles lost 1,261,460 subscribers, according to Social Blade.
On Sunday, that YouTube count dropped by a further 772,373 people.
In her video, which has been viewed 39 million times, Westbrook called out Charles for a number of reasons, including promoting a rival vitamin pill to her own on his Instagram Stories.
Westbrook made further allegations that Charles had used his celebrity to try to manipulate straight men into thinking they are gay.
“You tried tricking a straight man into thinking he’s gay yet again, and somehow you’re the victim,” Westbrook said of one incident involving a restaurant waiter.
“You know, it’s really disgusting to manipulate someone’s sexuality, especially when they are still emerging into adulthood and don’t have everything quite figured out.
“You are using your fame, your power, your money to play with people’s emotions.
“You’re threatening to ruin them. You’re threatening to embarrass them. And you’re doing that to have them behave sexually in your favour, even if they’re straight.
“And you know what? That’s not okay. That behaviour’s not okay.”
James Charles’s apology to Tati Westbrook
Charles uploaded his own YouTube video on Friday, apologising to Westbrook and insisting he didn’t mean to hurt her by promoting Sugar Bear Hair vitamins, which is a rival to her own Halo brand.
Speaking about his relationship with men, Charles added:“I’ve been involved in a lot of very unique and strange situations that have left people confused or upset, and I learned the hard way about ways I can interact with boys I’m interested in.
“This is a conversation that I know a lot of people are uncomfortable with, and it’s something I should have been far more careful with, bringing into the public eye.”
