Tati Westbrook wants to 'stop the abuse' against James Charles: 'I don't think anyone deserves that'
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If you thought the drama between feuding YouTube megastars James Charles and Tati Westbrook was dying down, you were wrong.
Westbrook has just dropped a new tear-filled video speaking out about the social media saga that has left Charles with his reputation and business in tatters.
In case you missed it, major drama first erupted between the beauty professionals last Friday, when Westbrook released a lengthy video called “Bye Sister” — which has been viewed 46.8 million times — cutting ties with her former protégé.
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JAMES CHARLES' ONLINE CLOTHING SHOP GOES DOWN AMID TATI WESTBROOK FEUD
The 37-year-old beauty vlogger’s withering slap-down came after Charles, 19, endorsed a vitamin company, Sleep Vitamins by SugarBearHair — which is a direct competitor of her beauty brand, Halo Beauty — at Coachella in April.
During the 43 minute video, Westbrook controversially accused the openly gay teenager of making inappropriate sexual advances towards straight men.
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Things haven’t been good for Charles since, with the star going “into hiding” as his followers dropped by more than three million and social media turned against him.
Now though, Westbrook — who saw her YouTube subscribers double from five million to 10 million during the saga — is pleading with people to “please stop” the “abuse," explaining she’d never intended for anything of “this magnitude” to occur.
“I do want the hate to stop. I want the picking sides and the abusive memes and the language, and all of that … I really hope on both sides it can stop,” she said. “That’s not why I made the video.”
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Explaining her intentions in a new video titled “Why I Did It,” the 18-minute clip dives head first into her side of the drama between her and Charles.
“It was me trying to reach someone that was completely unreachable,” she said. “He is losing the ability to get honest more and more each day. I’m losing the ability to reach (out to him).”
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The 37-year-old goes on to state she wanted to meet with James face-to-face but hadn’t been able to since his “downfall."
“I don’t hate James Charles. I don’t want you guys hating on him … It’s painful to watch someone that you have cared for be dragged and to know that this started because of me. I don’t think anyone deserves that,” she said.
Westbrook insists she released the scathing video called “Bye Sister” to give the teen a “wake-up call,” stressing, “I love James Charles.”
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Westbrook — who has seen a surge in subscribers while many of Charles’ abandoned him — said she didn’t think “it was possible” for his fans to turn on him, saying she presumed she would “take the hit."
“I’m in a dark place and just need to take a break right now,” she said.
She also added that she thought their relationship wouldn’t recover from the ordeal, insisting she didn’t want to “take him down” with her initial post.
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“If I really wanted to take him down and ruin him and cancel James Charles, I would have been sharing every little detail that I could, just know that I didn’t,” she said.
While some may think the apology has come a bit late as Charles has arguably already suffered catastrophic damages from her first video, fans applauded Westbrook in the comments for being “the bigger person."
“A true friend speaks up, you did your job, you did what u needed to do and that’s OK, not your fault …” one said.
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“I love how Tati is being the bigger person and staying so strong … props to her,” another wrote.
Others described her as “genuine,” adding: “Tati is so mature it’s insane.”
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While Charles shared a short, tearful apology video on his YouTube channel hours after Westbrook’s public accusations went viral, he’s yet to comment on how the whole situation has unfolded.
Simply titled “tati." James appeared upset in the eight-minute clip which was filmed on Friday, May 10 — the day the drama broke — while he was in Australia to promote his new pop-up stores. It has since been viewed 48.5 million times and led to a number of unflattering parody videos.
For more, continue reading the original article, first published on News.com.au.