James Charles & Manny MUA apologize for “childish” Alicia Keys drama

Beauty gurus James Charles and Manny MUA have issued an apology to Alicia Keys, after speculation that they were ‘shading’ her in a series of tweets criticizing celeb makeup lines.

Manny and James caused a stir on social media on August 5, when they each jumped on Twitter to voice their thoughts about “people who don’t wear makeup” creating beauty brands.

James was even forced to clarify to fans that he wasn’t talking about his new friends Charli and Dixie D’Amelio. These TikTok stars have recently launched their own makeup line with Morphe.

These tweets coincided with the announcement of Alicia Keys’ new “lifestyle beauty brand.” Alicia has been open about her decision not to wear makeup, so eagle-eyed followers soon figured out that she must be the subject of the YouTubers’ tweets.

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The apology

Those suspicions were confirmed on August 6, when both James and Manny posted apologies on Twitter. In these apologies, they directly named Alicia as the celebrity they were talking about.

James said “it wasn’t my place to gatekeep this industry” and expressed he’s glad he deleted his “childish” tweets.

Manny similarly regretted thinking the range was a “cash grab” and apologized “for being so quick to make a judgment.”

To add insult to injury, E.L.F revealed that the beauty line was a skincare range, not makeup as originally suspected. In his apology, James made reference to this mistake, saying “who BETTER to talk about keeping your skin clear without makeup” than bare-faced Alicia.

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At the time of writing, Alicia has not responded to either the original comments made, or the apology.

It seems the two controversial stars may have learned their lesson this time around. But the next controversy is never far away when it comes to the beauty community.