James Charles slams ‘straight’ TikTok trolls baiting his DMs for views

Virginia Glaze

YouTuber and makeup mogul James Charles is hitting out at trolls who are posting their direct messages with him as a way to capitalize on past drama surrounding the social media star.

In summer 2019, Charles was publicly slammed by mentor and fellow YouTuber Tati Westbrook, who claimed that the young beauty guru was using his fame as a way to manipulate the sexuality of straight men.

Although he debunked Tati’s claims in a subsequent video and regained his 16 million subscribers, Charles continues to suffer from similar claims, which have now spread to popular short-form video platform TikTok.

YouTuber James Charles has bounced back from a drama-filled 2019, which included major fallout between himself and former mentor Tati Westbrook.

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The YouTube star replied to a Tweet of a TikTok that followed the story of a self-labeled 17-year-old straight boy, who had entered Charles’ “TikTok Bachelor” contest as a “joke.”

The boy went on to show that the YouTuber had messaged him as part of the contest, and that he had even played along with the “joke” — but appeared to be disgusted and confused by his advances, captioning the video, “what do I do now…”

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Needless to say, Charles wasn’t happy with the video, which he dubbed “queerbaiting and pathetic.”

“This happens weekly at this point,” he wrote. “Some guy slides in my DMs or matches with me claiming they’re interested, we talk for a few days, and once they have enough recorded content for a TikTok or a Tweet, they post it and claim they’re straight. It’s queerbaiting and it’s pathetic.”

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That’s not all: the YouTuber went on to claim that this issue has been happening since before his drama with Westbrook last year, and makes his dating life incredibly “difficult and confusing.”

This certainly isn’t the first time Charles has addressed such drama, as the star came forward in December 2019 after users on Tinder faked screenshots of his purported direct messages with men on the platform.

While dating can be difficult for any celebrity, considering their fame, Charles continues to battle this unique struggle in wake of the fallout from a scandal he has put far behind him.

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About The Author

Virginia is Dexerto's Entertainment Editor and an expert in all things TikTok, YouTube, and influencer-related. Boasting a background in esports, she's been tackling the social media space for over five years. You can reach Virginia at: virginia.glaze@dexerto.com.