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Celebrity

20th Apr 2021

YouTube demonetised James Charles’ account after he admits to messaging minors

Sarah McKenna Barry

The move will stop the social media star from earning revenue on his videos.

YouTube has temporarily demonetised beauty blogger James Charles’ channel amid allegations he sent messages to underage fans.

The move prevents Charles from making money on the video platform. It is not clear how long the channel will remain demonetised.

In a statement, a spokesperson for YouTube said:

“If we see that a creator’s on- and/or off-platform behaviour harms our users, community, employees or ecosystem, we may take action to protect the community.”

Just weeks ago, Charles admitted that he exchanged “flirty” messages with minors in a video called ‘holding myself accountable’.

In the video, James said he was “ashamed” and “embarrassed” by his actions, and promised to try better.

The video came after screenshots of James allegedly messaging underage boys were circulated online.

“In both of these cases I added these people on Snapchat, asked how old they were right away, was told that they were 18, believed them, engaged in a flirty conversation and then later on found out that they were actually 16,” he said in the video.

“Upon finding out, I was immediately embarrassed and blocked both people […] I fucked up. These conversations should’ve never happened, point blank, period. There is no excuse for it. There is no ifs, ands or buts and I take full responsibility for that.”

Last week, Morphe announced that they would be ending their partnership with the social media star.

A statement from the cosmetics company said:

“In light of recent allegations against James Charles, Morphe and James have agreed to end our business relationship and wind down sales of the Morphe x James Charles product offering.

“It is, and has always been Morphe’s goal to create a positive, safe and empowering space where all beauty lovers can freely share their artistry and passion for cosmetics and Morphe is committed to furthering that goal.”