James Charles is in the spotlight after allegedly using a racial slur in an Instagram story. He was singing along to a hip-hop track on January 1 when he was accused of using racist language, but some are questioning whether he did actually repeat the lyric.
The make-up star was out partying alongside some close friends to celebrate the New Year. He shared some moments from the night on Instagram, which included him singing along to Saweetie’s ‘My Type.’
The 12-second clip has landed the YouTuber in trouble though, with some fans alleging that he said the n-word twice while smashing out the rapper’s hit.
“Why is nobody talking about James Charles saying the n-word two times in an Instagram story,” said ‘JoacoSevitz’ on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/JoacoSevitz/status/1212414869619785730
While the track does include the slur as a lyric, others have questioned whether he used the exact words, or just had his mouth open at the wrong time.
“I listened to it and I didn’t hear him say it,” said keribear101 on Twitter. “I hate James as much as anyone else but I think people got this one wrong.”
https://twitter.com/keribear101/status/1212484451072184330
James Charles himself has denied the claims, saying that he would have to be “stupid” to leave a video of him using the slur up overnight.
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“Turn up the volume and listen, I skip over it,” he said. “How stupid would I have to be to confidently record a video of me singing the n-word and still have it up the next morning.”
no? turn up the volume & listen, I skip over it. how stupid would I have to be to confidently record a video of me singing the n word and still have it up the next morning
— James Charles (@jamescharles) January 1, 2020
The hashtag #jamescharlesisoverparty was trending across the world on Twitter after the incident, with many people calling to “cancel” Charles – although they are sceptical about whether it will affect his career.
“I feel like this is the 100th time this sh*t has trended,” said ‘fredsfitzell’. “Y’all ended his a** so many times but keep coming back the moment he makes a video shedding his fake tears.”
Posting on Twitter, parkyourjimins said: “We already knew how James [Charles] is, but y’all cancel him every other month and then still [f**k with] him a month later and buy his sh*t.”
https://twitter.com/fredsfitzell/status/1212490720021495812
https://twitter.com/parkyourjimins/status/1212482371628552193
It’s not the first time Charles has had to deal with controversy. Most notably, in May 2019, he was accused by fellow YouTuber Tati Westbrook of using his fame to manipulate straight men “to have them behave sexually in [his] favor.”
The accusations sparked a frenzy on social media, but Charles later cleared them up, debunking most of Tati’s claims, and despite the initial backlash, quickly regained subscribers and public favor.
