Controversial beauty influencer, and major player in the infamous YouTube's dramageddon, James Charles, has apologised for telling a laid-off Spirit Airlines employee "to get another job" after she sent him a GoFundMe link.
The internet has been shook by Charles once again after the beauty influencer shared a video ranting about a former Spirit Airlines employee who slid into his DMs with a GoFundMe link after she was laid off by the airline.
"You know what else would help you? Getting another job. Try that," Charles said in the now-deleted video.
"In the time it took you to copy and paste the same f*ck ass message to myself, who you don't follow by the way and probably a hundred other influencers and celebrities, you could've applied to a hundred other jobs, but you didn't because you're a lazy piece of sh*t and you're entitled and you think influencers and celebrities should fund your life for you."
In a second video, which has also been deleted, Charles said he stood "ten toes down" behind what he said in the first video, where he called her a "lazy piece of sh*t".
The pulse of Australian culture, since 2005.
Sign up for your daily dose.
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services.
"I'm sorry, just because someone has money doesn't mean you're entitled," Charles said in his second video on the matter.
"I'm sorry if that comes across as sensitive or privileged or mean, but welcome to the real world. It's f*cking hard out there."
James Charles apologises after calling out a laid-off Spirit Airlines employee
Just like clockwork, after copping immense backlash not only from fans but also from fellow beauty influencers, such as Jackie Asamoah (@JackieAina), Charles came through with an apology video, admitting that his initial rant stemmed from a place of privilege.
"Yesterday morning, I posted a video on this account talking about how a woman had lost her job at Spirit Airlines, and she sent me a message with a GoFundMe link asking me to donate," Charles began.
"This video was fucking stupid. It was rude, it was obnoxious, it was privileged, and most importantly, it was completely fucking unnecessary. When I saw that DM, I absolutely had the choice to ignore it and say absolutely nothing at all and move on with my day, but instead, I couldn’t even tell you why, her message just triggered me. I decided instead to make a video about it," he continued.
"I bashed her, and it was obnoxious, and I shamed her for asking for help in a situation where she was clearly really struggling, and 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," Charles said.
The influencer went on to explain that he made the video out of frustration, revealing that he often gets messages from random viewers requesting money and that he felt like he was being treated like a "personal ATM or bank account". However, someone stressing about their finances outweighs his woes with these types of requests.
"It really doesn't matter what my intentions were behind making the video, because it came across as super fucking privileged and like I was basically shaming anybody that's unemployed for not trying hard enough to get a job," Charles added.
"I feel awful because that wasn't my intention, and it really hurt a lot of people, and I know that it’s not that easy. I know that the job market fucking sucks right now."
Charles went on to acknowledge his own path to success — which was making makeup videos online — and that his previous rant was made from a "very privileged, obnoxious, ignorant standpoint".
"For anybody who saw that video and was disappointed or upset with what I said, I am super sorry," Charles said before addressing the former Spirit Airlines employee directly.
"If you see this video and you want to get in touch, I would love to apologise to you directly and to help you out a little bit. But if you are not comfortable with that, I totally understand, too."
At the end of his video, Charles spoke out about his spam page — which is separate from his make-up account — where he admits it was "completely inappropriate to make a joke out of somebody just trying to provide for themselves and their family".
Fans react to James Charles' apology
Instead of showing the influencer some grace — after all, this isn't his first rodeo with an apology video — viewers called him out, where some even claimed that he was seen liking comments siding with him in the OG rant.
"You made TWO videos and were liking comments agreeing with you, this video is such a lie," one person wrote.
"You’re in such a privileged position that you probably won’t ever understand what it’s like to lose your job and not know how you’re going to pay bills, healthcare, childcare, or even EAT. As an influencer, you should think before you post, not crawl back with an apology after the damage is already done," another penned.
"The influencer apology voice will always make me giggle," wrote a third.
Charles has responded to some of the comments, admitting that he is checking his own privilege by creating this apology video.
Last week, thousands of Americans lost their jobs after the budget airline, Spirit Airlines, shut down due to financial struggles.
"In March 2026, we reached an agreement with our bondholders on a restructuring plan that would have allowed us to emerge as a go-forward business," Dave Davis, Spirit President and Chief Executive Officer, said, per 9News.
"However, the sudden and sustained rise in fuel prices in recent weeks has ultimately left us with no alternative but to pursue an orderly wind-down of the Company.
"This is tremendously disappointing and not the outcome any of us wanted."
According to the publication, about 17,000 employees were laid off.
