Did James Charles get fired from YouTube? The latest allegations explained

6 April 2021, 17:39

James Charles responds to Trisha Paytas over "child groomer" comments (Nov 2020)

By Katie Louise Smith

James Charles will not be hosting Instant Influencer season 2, and now people are wondering whether he was fired by YouTube.

Over the past few months, James Charles has been accused of messaging underage boys on social media. While he's denied some of the accusations in the past, James recently posted a 14-minute video titled 'Holding Myself Accountable' where he apologises for messaging and flirting with two 16-year-old boys on Snapchat.

In the video, 21-year-old James explains that "two different people, both under the age of 18, have recently come forward saying that they had inappropriate messages from me on social media. One of them being from last year and one of them being from more recent."

He continues: "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."

James admits that "these conversations should’ve never happened, point-blank, period. There is no excuse for it, there is no ifs, ands or buts" before adding: "I take full responsibility for that.”

James also apologises to the people in the video, saying: “To the guys involved in the situation, I want to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I added you, I'm sorry that I flirted with you and I’m really sorry if I ever made you uncomfortable. It is completely unacceptable.”

Because of James' actions, people are now wondering whether or not YouTube have "fired" him, following the recent news that he will no longer be hosting Instant Influencer season 2.

holding myself accountable

Was James Charles fired from YouTube?

James Charles can't necessarily be 'fired' from YouTube on the whole because he's essentially an independent content creator. There are, however, a number of ways in which James could possibly be penalised by the platform over the recent allegations.

James' channel could be temporarily removed from YouTube's Account Monetisation Program, much like Shane Dawson and David Dobrik, who have both recently seen their channels temporarily demonetised. If this happens, this means James will no longer be able to earn money from brands through ads on his videos.

There have been calls on social media for James' content to be demonetised following the allegations and his recent 'Holding Myself Accountable' video but so far, YouTube has yet to make that move.

Was James Charles fired from Instant Influencer?

Back in March, it was confirmed that James Charles would not be returning as the host of YouTube's Instant Influencer season two.

The news, which came one month after James was accused of messaging an underage boy on social media, lead many to speculate whether or not YouTube had actually fired James from the role. (James addressed and denied the February 2021 allegations in a statement on Twitter.)

In a statement to Variety, who confirmed the Instant Influencer news, a YouTube rep declined to provide a reason as to why they would be moving ahead without James. They did not say whether he was 'fired' or not. Instead, they said that the show would be going in a "new creative direction".

“We can confirm Season 2 of the YouTube originals series ‘Instant Influencer’ will take a new creative direction, including a new host,” the statement said. “We thank James for a great first season, and look forward to building on the show’s success by expanding the opportunity to showcase a diversity of creators across the YouTube platform in our upcoming season.”