And so the drama that just doesn't seem to have an end in sight continues. Yup, the James Charles/Tati Westbrook saga is still rumbling on, although possibly on a more steady road.
It all started earlier this week when Westbrook uploaded a damning 43-minute video after Charles promoted a rival vitamin brand on social media in exchange for artist passes at Coachella. But it didn't end there — Westbrook included accusations of Charles preying on straight men and claimed he'd changed due to fame and money. The overarching message of the video was clear — the pair's friendship was over.
Charles, who was on the other side of the world in Australia when the video dropped, immediately jumped into damage control mode, uploading his own eight-minute video where he profusely apologised to Westbrook for his behaviour. It did little to help the situation though, as his YouTube following began to plummet.
Westbrook, meanwhile, only seems to have benefitted from the controversy, gaining more than four million subscribers thus far. This didn't go unnoticed, with people questioning her motive for posting the video in the first place.
And so, six days later, Westbrook took to YouTube again, this time uploading an 18-minute video titled: "Why I did it ..."
View this video on YouTube
In the video, a clearly emotional Westbrook called for an end to the criticism of Charles, saying: "We need to [be able] to call [people] out [when they do something wrong]...but also give them the chance to figure things out."
The reaction to the video has been largely positive, with people applauding Westbrook for being genuine.
NO TEA NO SHADE tati westbrook is one of the realest people on the internet, and that’s an understatement.
This part in Tati Westbrook’s new video really hit me hard, this woman speaks nothing but the truth 💕
Others applauded her for coming forward when she realised the extent of the backlash against Charles.
nah listen ive got MAD RESPECT for tati westbrook tbh she deadass could have left it and let herself rise and rise but she came straight in with the enough is enough and that’s something you gotta respect man i felt her pain through that screen shutup everyone
@shanedawson i agree with what tati said. as much as i love drama, this has gone to far. i wish everyone would be nice to each other
However, some people were confused by Westbrook's claim that she hadn't expected any of this to happen.
Tati: Completely drags James Charles in 40 minute video talking about how bad of a person he is James: Loses 4 million subscribers and drama blows up Tati:
tati really played the reverse card on james charles’ whole career, can’t wait till she uses the +4 so he can get his 4 million subscribers back
While others still weren't buying her reasoning for posting the video in the first place.
Tati made her video ONLY because she got mad that JC advertised a competing vitamin pill. She added the problematic things she was AWARE he’s been doing for years to add salt to the wound bc the vitamin situation alone wouldn’t resonate. Her crying now pisses me off.
But it seems that Westbrook's second video might've got people feeling more sympathetic towards Charles. After the video was uploaded, Charles began to regain a small percentage of the YouTube subscribers he lost, suggesting the effects of the drama is now plateauing.
And after losing almost 200,000 followers on Twitter, Charles has started to gain some of those back too.
Meanwhile, Westbrook has continued to gain followers across social media, amassing over 300,000 YouTube subscribers and 25,000 Twitter followers since uploading her second video.
