‘I wanted to die’: Everything James Charles has said about his grooming allegations from 2021

James and his brother haven’t spoken since the grooming allegations surfaced

10 months ago

Back in 2021, influencer James Charles was accused of grooming and having inappropriate conversations with minors. However in a recent interview with Cosmopolitan, James Charles has spoken out on the controversy and is looking for a relaunch.

Since he started his YouTube back in 2016, James Charles has come a long way since first posting. During the time he has spent online, he has found himself living at such highs but equally, he’s been embroiled in some of the platform’s biggest controversies.

The most notable scandal was when James was accused of grooming in 2021 with multiple minors coming forward to claim the influencer had engaged in inappropriate conversations with them. This resulted in massive backlash and James was ultimately cancelled for a very long time.

However now two years later, he’s relaunching himself and his new brand. Here’s everything he said about the 2021 grooming allegations and how they affected his life.

He spoke about his reaction to the allegations about his conversations with minors

via @jamescharles on Instagram

James Charles said: “I can’t even begin to explain to you how bad that week of my life was. 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.”

He continued to say how he’s always been someone who can cope with heavy stuff and is able to turn his phone off, go see his family and invite his friends over when it all gets too much. But with the situation he faced in 2021, James says his coping mechanisms weren’t working. He said: “It was the first time where I was like, oh fuck. I actually don’t know what to do here. I eventually got to a point where I was like, this is not healthy. This is not good. This is getting to a really fucking dark place.”

James detailed his thoughts on the 2021 allegations

“I had to do a lot of thinking. 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,” James said.

He revealed the conversation between himself and the minor lasted “one hour” and “nothing happened” between them both.

He hasn’t spoken to his younger brother since the allegations came about

via @ianjeffrey on Instagram

James ended his deal with Morphe amid the controversies. However his team said that it was his decision to do so and this resulted in a “small” pay-out. On top of this, James also revealed he and his younger brother have lost contact as a result of the claims made against him. The YouTuber said they had not spoken in two years.

You can read James Charles’ full interview with Cosmopolitan here.