Hi Sisters… More like BYE Sisters! The feud between James Charles and Tati Westbrook has officially come to an end. Need to catch up? Have no fear the TEA is here! You wanted the drama and GIRL we are here for it!
HERE'S A RECAP ON WHAT WENT DOWN:
The drama between the two BFFs began on April 22 when James Charles signed a contract at Coachella with Tati’s direct competitor, Sugar Bear Hair, a vitamin company widely known in the Instagram beauty community for their hair supplements. The contract proposed that James Charles post one Instagram story to promote their new sleep vitamins in exchange for artist access passes and security protection for him and his friends for weekend 2 of Coachella.
And that’s when it. went. DOWN. Tati immediately turned to her followers by posting a 43-minute video expressing how she felt betrayed by her long-term best friend, James Charles.. But that’s not all. She DRAGGED him with accusations stating that he allegedly uses his power and fame to trick straight men into thinking they’re gay, and concluded the video by completely cutting ties with the 3-year long BFF, suggesting that “Fame, power and a fat bank account will change almost anyone.” Tati’s video went VIRAL, gaining over 5 million subscribers in a matter of 24 hours.
James Charles on the other hand.. Who’s he? After Tati released her initial video, people were FURIOUS! #JamesCharlesIsOverParty went VIRAL on Twitter in a matter of hours and the amount of backlash that Charles received from the world was statistically groundbreaking in the YouTube community. In just 3 days, Charles lost over 3 million subscribers, including being unfollowed on Instagram by celebrities such as the Kardashians, Demi Lovato, and Jeffree Star. James Charles quickly responded to Tati by posting a public apology video titled “tati”, explaining how he regrets his decision to sign the contract and apologizes for his actions.
Although his apology was a nice attempt, Charles continued to receive a tremendous amount of backlash for his apology video, bringing in over 3.2 million dislikes on the video entirely. Many viewers suggested that he seemed careless with his apology due to the lack of sincerity in his voice along with the long awkward pauses between statements, and speculated that Charles ultimately forced himself to cry in order to gain sympathy from his viewers.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT:
In response to the backlash that James Charles had received throughout the feud, Tati decided to swoop in with a second video in hopes to deter the hate away from Charles, explaining that her influence was “way, way, way bigger than I think anyone could have imagined.”
Since then, Tati has also decided to remove both videos as an attempt to end the drama. However, Charles decided that he wasn’t comfortable with just “moving on”, clapping back with ANOTHER response video, and girl did he have RECEIPTS.
In the 41-minute video, Charles comes for Tati by literally debunking every allegation she had previously stated in her initial video. He began by addressing the allegations made against him in the Sugar Bear Hair debacle, as well as confronting the predatory accusations that defaced him by stating that “[he has] never and would never and will never use [his] fame, money, or power to manipulate or get any sexual action from a guy”. Charles ended the video by thanking his “sisters” for their loyalty and support, and announced that he will be taking a short break from filming and social media to focus more on bettering himself and his relationships around him. Since releasing the video, Charles has gained nearly over a million followers, while Tati’s subscriber count depleted by an astonishing 200,000 subscribers.
So, it poses the question: where does fan loyalty really lie? More importantly, are these influencers strategically using their social media fame in order to persuade their viewers to subconsciously choose a side? Let's take a closer look:
Tati initiated the drama by publicly venting about the situation to her social media platforms in order to gain emotional support from her followers. Her initial video influenced her followers to emotionally respond by showing their loyalty to Tati by posting Tik Tok videos of them burning and defacing James Charles' new makeup palette.
Although it may not have been Tati's intention to manipulate her viewers, she used her social media platforms to invoke a emotional reaction within the audience enough to get them to react in her favor, whether it be by purchasing her new beauty supplements to support her new business, Halo Beauty, or by subscribing to her channel.
2. James Charles uses the nickname "sisters" for his viewers in order to make his videos feel more personable and relatable to his audience. By using this technique, it establishes a close, personal relationship between you and the influencer, making you feel more inclined to support them through difficult times just as you would with a close friend.
3. Tati and James both intentionally address their recent battles with depression in their response videos in order to appear more relatable to their audience members. Also, both influencers openly displayed their feelings towards the current situation by publicly crying on camera in hopes to gain sympathy from their viewers, and to subconsciously influence them to subscribe to their channels.
IS THE FEUD REALLY OVER?
In a recent attempt for damage control, both influencers decided to mutually set their drama aside by releasing a final public apology to their fans in hopes to end the drama once and for all. In their tweets, James and Tati both agreed that it was time to move on and ended on a positive note by suggesting that this situation will hopefully help to strengthen and spread more positivity within the beauty community in the future.
"I hope that our community is somehow strengthened from all this madness and that we will all strive to hold ourselves and each other to a higher standard." -Tati Westbrook
"This week was awful for all of us and I ask that the community focuses on positivity moving forward." - James Charles
What are your thoughts on the drama? Do you think the feud is REALLY over? Or will there be more tea to spill. If so, we may need a clean up on aisle 5.
Drop a comment below or on Instagram/Twitter to let us know what drama you want to hear about next because we are here for it! Stay connected and follow us on social media @PeoplesRevolt