Who Is James Charles, Exposed For Allegedly Sexting Underage Boys?

Who is James Charles: YouTube star James Charles has found himself dragged into the ongoing "grooming" controversy as several underage boys recently came forward and accused him of sending sexually explicit messages to them.

The 21-year old beauty guru and influencer admitted in a video posted on YouTube that he has been sending sexually explicit messages to two 16-year-old boys, even though the legal age of consent in the US is 18. "I fully understand my actions and how they are wrong," the beauty vlogger said he is "ashamed" in a &t=306s">video posted to his YouTube channel on Thursday. He also claimed that the minors in question told him they were 18.

Who is James Charles?

1. James Charles has 25.7 million subscribers on YouTube and is best known for his beauty and makeup videos. He also boasts 27.3 million Instagram followers and 36 million followers on TikTok.

2. He first grabbed the spotlight back in 2016. Then a New York high-school student, Charles casually shared his senior yearbook photos on Twitter and the makeup snaps went viral.

3. Charles eventually started his own YouTube channel and became a makeup artist and vlogger.

4. He vlogs about makeup-focused content and also shares product reviews and tutorials.

5. He uses the catchphrase “Hey, sisters” at the beginning of each video.

6. Considering his massive social media following, James Charles became a host of his own digital reality competition series on YouTube, Instant Influencer, which premiered in April 2020. Following numerous controversies against him amid new allegations, he was dropped from its second season. Variety confirmed that Charles will not be hosting another season.

7. The confirmation came after a 16-year-old boy accused Charles of sending him inappropriate images on Snapchat.

WHO COULD’VE SEEN THIS COMING: James Charles accused by 2nd underage boy of allegedly having inappropriate interactions. While the 17-year-old said nothing sexual happened, he alleges James allegedly continued to flirt with him after he told him he was 17. pic.twitter.com/g8UKKbNJhx

— Def Noodles (@defnoodles) February 27, 2021

8. The 21-year-old has faced many scandals over the past five years. In 2019, he was accused of using "fame and money to try to manipulate someone's sexuality", which he denied.

9. In a new video, Charles ">apologised to “two different people, both under the age of 18,” who came forward with the allegations on social media. He confessed that “one of them being from last year and one of them being from more recent.” He was first accused of “grooming” in February and one teenage boy claimed that he pressured him into sexting over Snapchat.

10. Later, another person posted screenshots alleging that Charles flirted with him on Instagram despite knowing he was underage. Most recently, a 15-year-old on TikTok posted screenshots from alleged conversations with Charles and said that he later blocked him and accused him of lying. “What I wasn’t getting before is that the excitement that comes from talking to a celebrity is literally enough to make somebody do or say something they normally wouldn’t, even if that celebrity isn’t intentionally weaponizing their fame, money, or power,” Charles says in the video adding, “That’s the concept I just wasn’t getting, but I now do.”

What is grooming?

Grooming is when an adult prepares a child or minor person for sexual activity, which leads to a sexual encounter that is touted to be consensual. It can include communicating and/or attempting to establish a relationship with a minor person.

Feature Image Credit: The New Yorker