Money, power and fame are a dangerous mix when given to the wrong people. It’s time for fans to start asking if influencers’ apologies make up for their actions.
James Charles, Jake Paul and David Dobrik are all well-known YouTube influencers who’ve had recent allegations and controversy surrounding their careers.
A Dec. 17, 2020, Vulture article writes, “If you’ve seen one influencer apology, you’ve kind of seen them all. The video, Instagram story and notes app apologies that Internet stars have become notorious for all tend to follow a familiar pattern, even as 2020 turned up the chaos threshold on their scandals.”
Regardless of claims made, all allegations are usually addressed by the influencer themselves in a video at some point in
their careers.
Charles, a YouTube beauty guru, has been wrapped up in controversy for a good portion of his career. Instead of owning up to his poor judgment, he acts like he’s apologetic and then makes excuses in an effort to victimize himself.
Frankly I’m not surprised with how he handles controversy and in fact, I’m not surprised by the way most influencers handle controversy.
Recent allegations against Charles arose when victims turned to social media platforms, including TikTok and YouTube, to come forward about their stories of sexual assault and grooming.
Grooming is when a person engages in predatory conduct to prepare a child or young person for sexual activity at a later time, according to the Victoria, Australia Department of Education website.
Charles’s most recent allegations began a few weeks ago when an underage TikToker revealed conversations sent through Snapchat of Charles trying to engage in sexual and inappropriate conduct with him.
These videos blew up of course, but Charles continued posting like nothing happened.
Though he did address the allegations of sexual harassment on Twitter, that seemed to be all he wanted to say, as he continued to post on his YouTube channel as normal.
He posted two makeup videos before he finally posted an apology video, and the video was exactly what I expected.
Many were quick to recall the time Charles hosted a YouTube mini-series called “Instant Influencer” where he taught contestants how to make apology videos.
According to a May 2020 The Verge article, “Charles gives a group of aspiring beauty stars a new challenge: create an apology video that is believable and won’t end up torn to shreds by the popular commentators who often keep YouTube’s community in check.”
Many went as far as comparing the comments and tips Charles gave the contestants to what he recited in his video.
He tried to deflect blame for his actions because he said he’s “desperate,” but as an adult he should know better.
Charles can’t use desperation as an excuse for his actions, but because he knows people will eventually move on, any excuse is all he needs.
These issues are magnified when influencers have power. You hear about the same problems repeatedly and multiple apology videos won’t change anything if they still happen.
Experts said the power dynamic between an Internet influencer and their fans presents hard questions about consent, regardless of a fans age, according to a March 19, 2021 Insider article.
Instead of learning how to create believable apology videos, Charles should teach up-and-coming influencers about consent.
