A feud between James Charles and his mentor, Tati Westbrook, has caused his subscribers on YouTube (once at around 16 million) to freefall to 13.8 million in the span of a few days.
In a 43-minute video posted to her YouTube channel, fellow beauty guru Westbrook explains her decision to end her friendship with Charles and explains how his behaviour has affected her life.
The catalyst was Charles' recent ad with Sugar Bear Hair supplements, which is a direct competitor to Westbrook's supplement Halo Beauty. Westbrook said she felt "betrayed" by Charles' decision and went into detail on how she and her husband had been supporting James in recent years - whether emotionally or assisting him in negotiating contracts.
Westbrook also cited multiple examples of Charles exhibiting inappropriate behaviour towards straight men (Charles identifies as gay) and saying negative or hurtful things about other people in their industry.
Soon, other celebrities began to chime in with stories about Charles, or began to unfollow him on social media – including Kim Kardashian, Iggy Azalea, Shawn Mendes, Katy Perry and more.
Charles apologized to Westbook and her husband in a video on YouTube that was widely mocked for being a case of "crocodile tears."
