James Charles reveals his brother hasn't spoken to him for two years

14 July 2023, 12:52

The Whole James Charles Controversy Explained | YouTuber News

By Woodrow Whyte

James Charles reveals the personal costs of his cancellation in 2021.

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James Charles has revealed in a new interview that he hasn't spoken to his brother, the model Ian Jeffrey, for two years.

In a candid interview with Cosmopolitan to promote his new makeup line Painted, James revealed new details about the fallout from his cancellation after he admitted to inadvertently exchanging messages with two 16-year-old boys who James believed to be 18.

The interview begins with James reflecting on the last two years. “I had to do a lot of thinking," he says. "Like, Okay, babe, this is your fault. No, you’re not a pedophile. No, you’re not a fucking groomer. No, you’re not a predator. But you made a big mistake.”

He goes on to say: “I’ve never been more disgusted in my life than when I found out that that kid was 16 years old. I was mortified, absolutely mortified.”

James Charles brother Ian Jeffrey. Picture: Instagram: @jamescharles / YouTube: @jamescharles

James does defend himself from some of the more serious claims that have been levelled against him following the 'incidents'. Referring to one of the interactions with a 16-year-old boy, James dismisses the characterisation of their communications as 'grooming'.

James says: “The conversation lasted one hour. I don’t know this person; I’ve never met this person. Nothing happened between me and this actual person, so to use that word is so categorically incorrect.”

He goes on: “I was crying myself to sleep every single night. I was sitting there in bed staring at my phone. I wanted to kill myself. I wasn’t talking to anybody.”

As well as being demonetised by YouTube, losing his deal with Morphe and hosting gig on Instant Influencer, James reveals there was a big personal cost to the scandal.

According to James, his younger brother Ian stopped talking to him because of the allegations. It’s now been two years since they last spoke.

An Open Conversation

There are several more surprising details in the Cosmo interview, including a revelation that one of the accusers has admitted they lied about, "telling [James] I was 18 a few years ago & the TikTok I made that blew the situation up.”

James confirms that the accuser apologised to him earlier this year. When asked why he didn't post the apology note, he responds: “Everybody makes mistakes, everybody fucks up. Don’t get me wrong—I definitely don’t think people should be able to do whatever they want and not be held responsible for it. It’s important that people be held accountable.

"But I think it’s important that we allow people to grow and to learn. The idea that somebody fucks up and then their entire life and career and everything that they’ve ever worked for should be swept out from under their feet is just horrifying."

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A post shared by James Charles (@jamescharles)

One part of the interview that is proving a little more controversial is James comments about his dating life.

James appears to blame the lack of "famous male gay celebrities from the ages of 20 to 25" as part of the reason why he took to Instagram Discover to look for potential partners.

He says: “Quickly, please name five famous male gay celebrities from the ages of 20 to 25. You can’t because they don’t exist.”

Apparently, James will still slide into people's DMs but he requires potential romantic interests to provide IDs before he’ll engage. “I’m a club bouncer at this point,” he jokes.