By now, just about everyone has heard of the infamous feud between famed YouTuber and makeup guru James Charles, and his former mentor and fellow YouTuber, Tati Westbrook. Last week, Westbrook posted a 40-minute video during which she explained why she would be cutting ties with Charles, whom she had been close friends with since before he found online success.
With emotion in her voice, she eloquently, yet apologetically made some pretty shocking accusations against Charles. As a result, he lost nearly 3 million subscribers and she gained millions herself. Just when the situation seemed like it was calming down a little, Westbrook posted a followup video explaining why she did what she did, according to E! News .
It was an advertisement for a supplement that sparked this entire ordeal. While at the Coachella Music Festival, Charles posted an advertisement for the vitamin brand, Sugar Bear Hair. His endorsement of the brand was viewed as a betrayal by Westbrook, who owns her own supplement company, Halo Beauty. Because Westbrook had helped Charles reach success, she had hoped he would show her loyalty by not endorsing one of her direct competitors.
She called him out for this in her now-viral video. She also spoke of Charles’ tendency to discuss topics relating to sex at inappropriate times, in addition to hitting on straight men and disregarding their sexual orientation. Charles posted a response video in which he apologized for his behavior, but the damage had already been done.
In Westbrook’s follow up video, she explained that she had no idea that her first video would cause the stir that it did, turning so many of Charles’ fans against him. She urged the hateful language and online attacks against him to come to an end. She emphasized that it wasn’t her intention to turn the world against Charles, but rather to persuade him to correct his behavior.
“It was me trying to reach someone that was completely unreachable. It’s about someone who reaches, across all platforms, 30 million people that are predominantly children. He is losing the ability to get honest more and more each day. I’m losing the ability to reach [out to him]. I don’t hate James Charles. I don’t want you guys hating on him… It’s painful to watch someone that you have cared for be dragged and to know that this started because of me. I don’t think anyone deserves that.”
