James Charles Apologizes To Alicia Keys For Subtweeting Her Beauty Line & Committing A ‘Microaggression’
YouTuber James Charles found himself in hot water yet again when he subtweeted Alicia Keys after she announced she would be collaborating with e.l.f. Cosmetics on a new beauty brand. On Thursday, Hollywood Life reported that Charles had apologized to the singer.
The drama began when Charles mistakenly believed Keys was planning to launch a line of cosmetic products. In the past, the 39-year-old has been outspoken about not wearing any cosmetics, although since then, she has slowly reintroduced them into her routine — albeit much less often.
When her announcement was made, the influencer tweeted that, in his opinion, “people who do not wear makeup should not be coming out with makeup brands.”
Charles deleted the subtweet not long after it was posted and then returned to his Twitter account a few hours ago to issue a direct apology to Keys, who he tagged in his statement.
He admitted to shading her and said he initially made his snarky comment because he believed “many celebrities come into the beauty space as a cash grab without any actual passion then leave.”
The 21-year-old reassessed his comments and realized he was acting “childish.”
“I am not the gatekeeper of makeup.”
He also confessed that he had not actually researched the entirety of Keys’ new line, which will focus primarily on skincare and creating cruelty-free, dermatologist-approved products to enhance one’s natural looks.
Upon learning more about the “Underdog” singer’s plans, Charles later voiced his support of her decision, saying she was one of the best celebrities out there to delve into the world of skincare.
Finally, he said that no matter what his original intent may have been, “it ended up being a microaggression against someone” he truly respects as an artist and individual.
.@aliciakeys pic.twitter.com/zJHmNQLvWl
— James Charles (@jamescharles) August 6, 2020
Charles’s original tweet received a lot of backlash from people who felt he was discriminatory toward Keys because she is a Black woman. Some accused him of being racist since he has not criticized other white celebrities for experimenting with cosmetics.
“James Charles being loud as hell to subtweet Alicia keys but was quiet when little miss Charli and Dixie D’amelio announced their collaboration with Morphe, keep the same energy shishtar or shush!” tweeted one user.
“Oh no not James Charles pasty a** putting himself into a black woman’s business again,” wrote another.
Manuel Gutierrez, known as Manny MUA in the beauty blogging community, came under fire for a similar shady tweet posted about Keys. He, too, has since apologized, and his statement can be viewed here.