Kylie Jenner’s done it. Kim Kardashian has done it, and so has Shawn Mendes. These celebs are just three stars who have unfollowed YouTube beauty personality James Charles on social media mere days after fellow influencer Tati Westbrook, 37, released a May 10 video lambasting her former friend. In the 43-minute long YouTube video, the makeup lover accused her 19-year-old mentee of betraying her by promoting a rival beauty product and allegedly hitting on straight men.
The fallout has been so intense that even some of James’s celeb supporters are joining millions of former fans in deserting him. On May 6, the teen was rubbing shoulders with billionaire beauty mogul Kylie Jenner, 21, at the Met Gala in New York. By May 13 – the woman who featured in one of his YouTube beauty tutorials in October 2018 – had unfollowed him on Instagram. Kylie’s older sister Kim Kardashian, 38 – who also appeared in one of James’s YouTube videos, also kissed goodbye to their online friendship. Meanwhile, while Miley Cyrus may still follow James on Twitter (as of May 13), she is no longer following him on Instagram.
Katy Perry, 34, is another celeb who has unfollowed James, which is particularly stinging given that they’ve both been the face of CoverGirl. In October 2016 she posted a photo of them beaming from ear to ear on her Instagram page. The pic was taken on the set of a CoverGirl shoot and Katy wrote that she was “honored to have the pleasure to announce” James as the “very first COVERBOY.”
Someone else who has distanced himself from James is Shawn Mendes. The 20-year-old and the teen exchanged DMs and tweets in October 2018 after James apologized to the “In My Blood” singer for responding to an Instagram Live video of him juggling balls. James commented, “Can you juggle me like that?” before Shawn quickly ended the livestream. James later tweeted an apology saying he was “upset, embarrassed, and sorry” if the pop star “felt sexually harassed.” Shawn sent him a direct message to say that the comment didn’t make him feel “uncomfortable.” Following this scandal, however, Shawn is no longer following James on social media.
Other stars who have waved goodbye to James include Demi Lovato and fellow YouTube stars, The Dolan Twins. As of May 13, James has lost 3 million YouTube followers since Tati’s “Bye Sister” video was uploaded.