YouTube has limited the ability for popular makeup vlogger James Charles to make money from the online video platform, following allegations of sexting and grooming by minors.
Charles, a beauty influencer with 25.5 million YouTube subscribers, has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 15 men and boys, with some claiming that underage sexting took place.
While YouTube didn’t say how long Charles’s channel would be ‘demonetized’, they did say it was part of the Creator’s Responsibility Policy.
In a statement to the Guardian, the company said, “We can confirm that we have implemented our Creator Responsibility Policy and temporarily removed James Charles from the YouTube Affiliate Program.” The policy states, “If we see a creator behavior on and / or off the platform harm our users, community, employees, or ecosystem, we can take action to protect the community.”
It adds that YouTube can take action against creators who intend to “cause malicious harm to others” or who cause “real harm” through abuse, violence, cruelty or fraudulent or deceptive behavior, Insider reports.
Last week, the beauty brand Morphe severed ties with Charles. In a statement posted on Twitter, the company wrote, “In light of the recent allegations against James Charles, Morphe and James have agreed to terminate our business relationship and discontinue sales of the Morphe X James Charles product offering.” They started their collaboration in 2018.
In its own statementCharles said the termination of the partnership was “mutually agreed.” In addition, Variety announced that Charles had been replaced by Zach Hsieh as the presenter of YouTube’s Instant Influencer competition program. YouTube declined to comment on Variety’s claims.
Earlier in the month, Charles posted a video in which he addressed the allegations and apologized for his behavior. In the video, entitled Holding Myself Accountable, he said of the allegations of underage sexting, “I was reckless … these conversations should never have happened.”
He alleged that two of the prosecutors pretended to be adults. “I trusted the information given to me rather than the information I could have and should have received myself.” He also spoke about taking legal action against more people who have spread misinformation and made fake stories.
Charles added that he had used YouTube as a dating app and now understood the problems it could cause. “A power imbalance can occur if it is not intentional,” he said. “What I didn’t get before is that the excitement that comes with talking to a celebrity is literally enough to make someone do or say something they wouldn’t normally do. Even if that celebrity doesn’t intentionally arm their fame, money, or power. And that’s the concept I just didn’t get, but now I do. “
The Guardian has contacted Charles for further comment.