James Charles has retracted his controversial statement about a woman in need. After the beauty influencer sparked backlash for his comments in a now-deleted online rant about a woman who asked him for financial support after being laid off from Spirit Airlines, Charles addressed his behavior in a May 9 TikTok video.
"It was rude, obnoxious, privileged, and most importantly, completely unnecessary," Charles said. "When I saw that DM, I had the choice to ignore it and say nothing at all, but instead, I couldn't even tell you why her message just triggered me and I decided to make a video about it."
The 26-year-old continued, "It was obnoxious, and I shamed her for asking for help in a situation where she was clearly struggling. This could have been her absolute last resort. I have no idea what was going on in her life, and I should have never assumed that she was just copying and pasting this DM as an easy way out."
Though Charles said it hurts being treated like "a personal ATM" by people on the internet, he acknowledged his "privilege" in having a financial safety net. He added, "What I'm sure sucks even more is not knowing where your next paycheck is coming from."
Admitting that he felt "awful" and "really hurt a lot of people" with his comments, Charles extended his deepest apologies to the Spirit Airlines worker who allegedly reached out for the financial support. He hoped to receive her information in order to "help you out a little bit."
The apology comes one day after he posted a now-deleted video slamming the former Spirit Airlines employee for sending him a GoFundMe link in a message asking for support after she was one of 17,000 employees suddenly laid off from the company when it abruptly shut down earlier this month.
"I just got a DM on here from a girl that said, 'Good morning, James,'" he recited in the original upload. "'I know you'll probably never see this, but if you could just take one minute to read it would really mean a lot to me. I'm really struggling right now because Spirit Airlines just filed for bankruptcy and I have lost my job. Here's a GoFundMe link. Any donations help.'"
"I'm sure they do, sweetheart. I'm sure they do," he added. "You know what else would help you? Getting another job. Yeah, try that."
"Because in the time that it took you to copy and paste the same f---king message to myself—who you don't follow, by the way—and probably a hundred other influencers and celebrities, you could've applied for a hundred other jobs," he continued. "But you didn't because you're a lazy piece of s---t, and you're entitled, and you think that influencers and celebrities should fund your life for you. Why would I ever help you?"
