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James Charles is trying to rebrand as a singer & the gays have thoughts
This is a weird way to do a “comeback,” right?
Once a juggernaut of the YouTube beauty influencer era, James Charles' fame nearly went up in smoke after he was accused of "grooming" underage boys. Now, the beauty guru is attempting to rebrand himself in the most unexpected way possible.
Charles, who built his entire career on his skills as a makeup artist, released his debut single, "Call Me Back," today, and the internet has thoughts.
Back in 2021, Charles was canceled after more than 15 boys and men accused him of inappropriate behavior and "grooming" underage boys he was talking to on Snapchat. After the accusations surfaced, he made a YouTube video apologizing for speaking to 16-year-olds but claimed he didn't know they weren't 18.
The beauty guru relaunched his career on TikTok last year — where he has since accumulated 38.5 million followers — and now he's trying to increase his popularity by trying his hand at being a pop star, we guess?
But trust the internet not to let anyone forget his alleged creepy behavior. While some people took to X (formerly Twitter) to talk about Charles' surprisingly good vocals, most are roasting him for thinking that a boring, mid song could somehow erase the internet's collective memory of what he did.
Spoiler alert: You can't. Nothing is ever really dead and buried on the internet.
"a lot of yall seem to have forgotten james charles has literally texted underaged boys…," one person posted on X.
"James Charles released a shitty song like we forgot he was sexting minors," another person wrote.
a lot of yall seem to have forgotten james charles has literally texted underaged boys… pic.twitter.com/h47yi1Fxn7
— al ☆ (@enchantedstann) February 9, 2024
James Charles released a shitty song like we forgot he was sexting minors pic.twitter.com/0AhfiFkJaE
— gigacoochie 🇵🇸 (@DavidRiehle3) February 9, 2024
The new track is about liking someone more than they like you and waiting by the phone for them to call you back. It might not have been the best idea to make your debut song about being obsessed with someone who ghosts you when you were accused of sending inappropriate messages to underage teen boys.
"That minor is not gonna call you back Charles," someone quipped on X.
That minor is not gonna call you back Charles pic.twitter.com/CpSIt13ZQ9
— deejay🖤 (@Chloesleftboob) February 9, 2024
Usually, musicians tease an upcoming single for weeks or months ahead of time, but Charles kept this under wraps before dropping it online with little fanfare other than posting the video on social media. Perhaps to avoid being roasted before anyone had even heard the song.
"SURPRISE… My first ever song, CALL ME BACK is now streaming on all platforms," Charles wrote on Instagram to announce the release of his single. "The song is all about learning how to find closure within getting ghosted, something I struggled with for a very long time. I've been keeping this secret for more than a year now… I hope you hear how much this project means to me, and I hope you love it as much as I do. Talk soon."
Although he only released the track about an hour ago at the time of writing this article, it already has more than 84,000 views on TikTok, proving that while the internet has a long memory, being canceled is pretty meaningless.
See people's funniest reactions below!
wondering when james charles will ever give up pic.twitter.com/Et64WzV2DC
— m (@imnotauntblazer) February 9, 2024
james charles after that 14 year old boy didn’t call him back: pic.twitter.com/GlDhjZa6Y2
— 𝒥𝓊𝓁𝑒𝓈 ౨ৎ ♡🩰 (@yourfavjulez) February 9, 2024
The way we all expected a surprise drop from Gaga but we got James Charles instead pic.twitter.com/avoOdaqaoe
— hoanne (@sinnersprey) February 9, 2024
Why are ppl lying saying that James Charles song is good pic.twitter.com/QIkbkCAsZg
— Kamika⸆⸉ (@GETHIMBACKKKK) February 9, 2024
I wonder if this is in reference to all the minors he talked to? #jamescharles pic.twitter.com/YBoCZ4sqWa
— Alijah Storm (@AlijahStorm) February 9, 2024
JAMES CHARLES CAME OUT WITH MUSIC???? I JUST SEEN THIS ON MY FYP ON TIKTOK💀 pic.twitter.com/0eDHTDDCPs
— ⋆♡Mands♡⋆ ~On Follow Limit Rn (@Livieshearts) February 9, 2024
When James Charles has the hit record of the night, then you know, the rest were trash 🗑️
— sir. georgio dougley richy (@sirgeorgiorichy) February 9, 2024
How did we get here!? 😂 pic.twitter.com/OoCtnRpDlZ
“james charles has released a new single” pic.twitter.com/ATafMHiWvu
— leon (@skyferrori) February 9, 2024
james charles has a song? james charles can sing or is he using autotune? girl? how old is his muse?
— Hayley (Taylor’s Version) | 🇱🇧🇺🇸 | 🍉 (@hayleysgarden13) February 9, 2024
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
