Beauty influencer and popular YouTube personality James Charles is, once again, finding himself in the middle of controversy, this time for a recent makeup look he posted on his Twitter and Instagram accounts on Sunday night.
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According to BuzzFeed News, the 20-year-old content creator is finding himself in hot water after he posted his version of TikTok's popular "Mugshot Challenge," an internet trend where people use makeup to show off what their mugshot would look like if they ever took one. In Charles' self-created mugshot, he created a bloody nose and a bruised eye, and people on Twitter took issue with that, claiming he was glamorizing violence and that a look like that could be triggering for people who are experiencing abuse at home.
\u201cOk so it\u2019s sexual assault awareness month and suddenly makeup which depicts abuse is trendy? Without a caption explaining it\u2019s makeup so people will believe it\u2019s real. \n\nAnd with no links to abuse helplines or charities. \n\nWhy would you use your platform like this? #jamescharles\u201d— Molly \ud83c\udf3b (@Molly \ud83c\udf3b) 1586167393
\u201c@jamescharles Shame on you. I spent 7 years waking up fearful I would be to loud, not making his breakfast right, laying out the wrong clothing smile the wrong way. Your making light of men and women Locked in with their abuser.... Not ok at all.\u201d— Joniece hansen (@Joniece hansen) 1586137880
\u201c@jamescharles You know I had to have two nose surgeries due to domestic violence. My nose is still crooked. I am reminded of those moments every day. This is not a subject matter to take lightly. You should know better. You need to apologize to everyone. This is triggering and offensive.\u201d— TWiNKS12 (@TWiNKS12) 1586136253
When a fan reached out to him via Twitter to voice their concern and to let him know that they are a victim of abuse, James explained himself, saying "I’m so sorry that you went through something so awful and traumatic. It’s a tik tok trend going around where people post their 'mugshots' and has nothing to do with domestic violence whatsoever. Love you."
\u201c@brananamuffin92 @CharlotteLPovey hi babe, I\u2019m so sorry that you went through something so awful and traumatic. it\u2019s a tik tok trend going around where people post their \u201cmugshots\u201d and has nothing to do with domestic violence whatsoever. love you\u201d— bre \ud83e\udd8b #DOAO (@bre \ud83e\udd8b #DOAO) 1586129680
He later responded to the controversy directly on Twitter, saying "Only I could lazily smudge on some purple eyeshadow and fake blood to recreate a dumb tik tok trend and have it twisted into an actual scandal lol."
\u201c@Adrian_beautee I do understand that but this dumb trend has nothing to do with domestic abuse. what about action movies? halloween? special effects? simple bloody noses? this is nothing new\u201d— Adrian (@Adrian) 1586191279
Despite his response, many people online were still rightfully upset.
\u201c@jamescharles This isn\u2019t cool. Don\u2019t glamorize abuse for likes. #domesticabuse #isntajoke\u201d— Blue (@Blue) 1586136685
\u201cBlack and Brown people face disproportionate rates of incarceration, but yts are turning fake mugshot pics into a trend? \ud83e\udd74\u201d— \ud83c\udf3fZoe Rain\ud83c\udf3f (@\ud83c\udf3fZoe Rain\ud83c\udf3f) 1586144894
\u201cWait James Charles is doing more stupid shit thats offensive? Are we even surpised at this point? Stop supporting toxic people\u201d— the human weighted blanket (@the human weighted blanket) 1586189868
\u201cSTOP SUPPORTING JAMES CHARLES AND HIS FRIENDS. THEY ARE PROBLEMATIC AND GIVE NO FUCKS ABOUT YOU. THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT PROFIT. send tweet.\u201d— Kevin Tran \u2728 (@Kevin Tran \u2728) 1586191635
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and abuse and are looking for help, resources can be found at the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
