James Charles Defended By Youtuber Nikita Dragun Against Tati Westbrook: He’s ‘My Friend’

It looks like through all of the backlash James Charles is facing in his feud with Tati Westbrook, one person still has his back. Fellow YouTuber Nikita Dragun shared a set of messages defending the beauty blogger.

After dozens of celebrities unfollowed James Charles, 19, on account of his feud with Tati Westbrook, 37, a true few are still showing their support. YouTube sensation Nikita Dragun is one of those people, and in a new Tweet, revealed why she thinks the controversy is being blown out of proportion. “I heard a situation needed some clarification,” she wrote to her followers on May 13. She then proceeded to share a set of text messages from the day that James “betrayed” his long-time friend, Tati, and linked up with her rival company Sugar Bear Hair at Coachella. “My friend was in an emergency and texted me in the moment… unfortunately since @dragunbeauty used all of our marketing budget on the fantasy, i connected him with sugar bear. nothing shady,” she explained.

Nikita’s tweet came with a set of text message screenshots, depicting her convo with James that day at the fest. In the messages, James pleaded for her to check with her Sugar Bear contact to see if they could hook it up with an “Artist Pass,” since fans in the general VIP area were “attacking” him. Evidently, Nikita’s contact came through, and when James later posted about Sugar Bear at the festival, it started the online feud of the century.

However, even with this new info, it doesn’t seem likely that James will be landing himself back in the good graces of his fellow internet stars. Despite issuing a public apology to Tati for his actions,  James has lost 3 million YouTube followers since the feud went viral. Plus, dozens of A-listers including, Kylie Jenner, Katy Perry, and Kim Kardashian, have hit the ‘unfollow’ button on his Instagram page.

It was Tati herself though, that delivered the most scathing message of all, and insisted that her issues with James go beyond the vitamin controversy. “There’s so much going on with James Charles right now that I do not support. I do not agree with,” James’ long-time mentor said in her tell-all video on May 10. She added, “Fame, power, and a fat bank account will change almost anyone. And if you don’t have people that will tell you to your face that you’re doing the wrong things, you will change. I tried to be that person for you James, I really tried. I don’t think there’s any getting through to you, and I don’t want to be friends with you. I don’t want to be associated with you.”