Beauty sensation James Charles, 19, loses almost 3 MILLION followers including Kylie Jenner in two days while touring Australia after bitter YouTube feud with mentor Tati Westbrook - so what happened?
- American beauty blogger Tati Westbrook released a tell-all video on May 10
- She called out makeup guru James Charles, 19, for inappropriate behaviour
- The seasoned YouTuber was very close to James and became his mentor
- Her video went viral with 30 million views and her protégé has lost fans
YouTube star and beauty guru James Charles has now lost more than two million subscribers including megastars Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian in the two days since a bitter feud with fellow makeup artist Tati Westbrook was made public.
The 19-year-old, who is in the middle of tour of Australia, has watched his career falter since Friday when his former mentor criticised him in a 43 minute video over his decision to promote a competitor to her company.
Tati said it was the final straw in a string of incidents that led to her wanting to end their friendship and 'all association' with him.
James had 16.57 million YouTube subscribers before the feud was made public - but now has only 13.99 million and the number is steadily falling.
The feud has seen a number of celebrities unfollow James from YouTube, including Jenner, Kardashian, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry.
Of the 60,000 who responded to a Twitter poll, an overwhelming 78 per cent of said James' career was now over.
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Beauty guru and American YouTube star James Charles (right) has lost more than two million followers on the platform two days after a bitter feud with Tati Westbrook (left) was made public
The feud began when James attended California-based festival Coachella on April 22 and began promoting Sugar Bear Hair vitamins on his Instagram Story.
The company - which promises to strengthen and add shine to your locks - is in direct competition with Tati's beauty supplements, Halo Beauty, a brand James said previously wasn't the right fit for his young followers.
Tati, who many are now claiming catapulted James into the spotlight, was left frustrated by the videos and mysteriously posted about feeling 'betrayed' shortly after.
James guessed that the anonymous 'betrayal' was a result of his actions and released a statement on his Stories: 'I want to publicly apologise to my close friend Tati,' he said.
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The feud began when James attended California-based festival Coachella on April 22 and began promoting Sugar Bear Hair vitamins on his Instagram Story (pictured at Coachella right)
Tati, who many are now claiming catapulted James into the spotlight, was left frustrated by the videos and mysteriously posted about feeling 'betrayed' shortly after
'She has been like a mother to me since my first days in this industry and has given me more love, support, resources and advice than I could ever ask for.
'This weekend I did an Instagram Story for vitamins that I've been taking because the brand helped me with security when the crowd around me at Coachella became unsafe. I did not accept any money from this post.'
Whether it was paid or not, beauty bloggers like Gabriel Zamora jumped to James' defence saying that Tati had no right to be angry over the vitamins.
This is ultimately what led to Tati, who goes by @GlamLifeGuru releasing her lengthy 'Bye Sister' video on May 10 while James was touring Australia, meeting and greeting fans from Down Under.
'I have finally had enough,' Tati told her own 5.8 million fan base.
Not a friend! The video was a direct response to one posted by Tati on Friday, where she claimed James made up lies about her and takes advantage of others among other things
This is ultimately what led to Tati, who goes by @GlamLifeGuru releasing her lengthy 'Bye Sister' video on May 10 while James was touring Australia, meeting and greeting fans from Down Under
'Get off your high horse and have some respect. You don't have any for the people who are in this industry and that's the sad fact.'
Tati said the pair had a genuine friendship but her relationship with James has never been 'transactional'.
'I have not asked him for a penny, I have never been on his Instagram,' she said.
Tati went on to list other issues she had with James, saying that she was tired of apologising for his behaviour.
'He said some things, telling me about a situation that happened in Seattle at my birthday, and it literally made me want to vomit,' she said.
James responded to the video with a quickly prepared eight minute segment which saw him apologise for his actions
Since the feud began Tati has gained 2.9 million followers, boosting her subscriber count to 8.7 million
Tati continued to give a scathing assessment of James in which she questioned his motives.
'You are using your fame, your power, your money to play with people's emotions,' she said.
Since the feud began, Tati has gained 2.9 million followers, boosting her subscriber count to 8.7 million.
And those new followers were quick to comment beneath her video.
'Tati makes whole James Charles career. In 2019: UNO Reverse Card,' one said.
'I hate knowing that I disappointed not only my fans, but two people that have been role models for me doing this,' he said, referencing Tati and her husband
Oh no! It has also been claimed that stars such as Kylie Jenner (pictured) have 'unfollowed him' on Instagram. The pair famously collaborated on a video together earlier this year
'James referred to Tati as a mother. Well Happy Mother's Day James,' another wrote on Sunday.
A third added: 'My jaw literally dropped when I saw the title of this video'.
'And this, children, is how you become an influencer, expose leeches and remain classy while doing so,' yet another said.
James responded to the video with a quickly prepared eight minute segment in which he apologised for his actions.
'I hate knowing that I disappointed not only my fans, but two people that have been role models for me doing this,' he said, referencing Tati and her husband.
There are thousands of tweets creating 'memes' out of the beauty feud
'What sucks the most is that I know there's nothing I can say or do to ever earn that friendship or trust back but I don't blame them for it.
'A lot of the time when I've had to address things in the past, I've acted out of impulse and I've gone off and tried to pull receipts or facts or screenshots and play the victim and I'm not doing that today, I'm not. That is all I have to say, I'm sorry.'
Makeup artist and beauty aficionado Jeffree Star tweeted his support for Tati saying that everything she said 'is 100 per cent true'.
Makeup artist and beauty aficionado Jeffree Star tweeted his support for Tati saying that everything she said 'is 100 per cent true'
Kim Kardashian appeared on James' channel with her makeup artist Mario
James Charles has worked with Iggy Azalea in the past (pictured right)
'There is a reason that Nathan banned Charles from ever coming over to our home again,' he said.
'There's a reason why I haven't seen him since Tati's birthday in February.'
This isn't James' first brush with controversy, in 2017 he made an insensitive tweet about contracting Ebola and in his apology for the tweet, called the continent a country.
James is currently on the Gold Coast promoting his Sisters pop up shop but has been labelled 'distracted' and 'cringey' during interviews since the feud went viral.
