Tati Westbrook uploaded a 43-minute YouTube video today dragging her ex-friend James Charles for his recent behavior and ‘betrayal.’
Beauty YouTuber Tati Westbrook, 37, is saying “bye sister” to her former friend James Charles, 19. The younger YouTuber shared an advertisement for SugarBearHair at Coachella, which made Tati, who has her own vitamin company, feel “blindsided.” Tati posted a new video on YouTube, her second about James after the Coachella incident, in which she bid farewell to her friendship with James, and calls him out for his behavior. “It wasn’t just about vitamins or Halo, it was just about being lied to and feeling disrespected,” she said. “And you know, James Charles had nine days after Coachella to talk to me. He knows where I live, it’s not far from him. He could’ve come face-to-face and chatted with me because he knew this would hurt me.” Tati proceeded to claim the two have had conversations about other people making brands with Sugar Bear Hair, and that James said he was loyal to Tati and her vitamin brand.
Tati said that after James’ sponsored post for SugarBearHair went up, he texted her, “I just did this post, no big!” She described his text as “pretty typical” behavior from the teen. “I know he has a way of just getting what he wants,” she said. “I always blamed it on his age, I was like, ‘He’ll grow up, it’s fine.’ I wanted to be someone who could give him solid advice.”
She continued to say that the end of their friendship went beyond the sponsored Instagram post incident. “There’s so much going on with James Charles right now that I do not support. I do not agree with,” she continued. “Fame, power, and a fat bank account will change almost anyone. And if you don’t have people that will tell you to your face that you’re doing the wrong things, you will change. I tried to be that person for you James, I really tried. I don’t think there’s any getting through to you, and I don’t want to be friends with you. I don’t want to be associated with you.”
Tati described that after the sponsored post incident, she felt pressured to accept James’ apology on his terms. She said she didn’t feel like he cared about her emotions, but just fixing his image after it went down. Tati alleged that James was in contact with “drama” YouTube channels Tea Spill and Here For The Tea, giving them his side of the story, instead of trying to make things right with Tati. “This is not strategy to me, this is me having someone that I mentored, someone that I cared for, really not care for me and exhibit that,” she said.
She also disputed 26-year-old YouTuber Gabriel Zamora’s claim that her relationship with James was transactional: “I have not asked him for a penny. I have never been on his Instagram.” Throughout the video, Tati got emotional about the loss of her friendship, but has appeared to move on from it. James has yet to post a response to Tati’s video, but we’ll be sure to let you know if he does.