James Charles Apologizes for Shading Alicia Keys About Beauty Line
Beauty vlogger James Charles occasionally finds himself in the middle of controversy or social media spats. Most recently, his named popped up when others in the beauty community hashed out their drama.
He chose to stay out of that situation, but Charles created his own one-sided rift with Alicia Keys and wound up eating his words. But what sparked it?
Alicia Keys is launching a beauty line
On Aug. 5, Grammy winner Alicia Keys and e.l.f. Beauty announced the upcoming collaborative launch of a new lifestyle beauty brand. The skincare line is set to hit the market in 2021, and the company sent out a press release with a brief description.
It stated that the brand was inspired by Keys’ personal skincare journey that will not only be inclusive, but “a line of skin-loving, dermatologist-developed, cruelty-free products, the brand aims to bring new meaning to beauty by honoring ritual in our daily life and practicing intention in every action.”
Keys sent out a simple tweet that read “Y’all have been asking about my skincare routine…” to let fans know about the project.
James Charles dropped a shady tweet about Keys
Charles, who heard about Keys’ partnership with e.l.f., sent out a curt tweet of his own to his 20 million followers about the venture. Referencing Keys’ commitment to stop wearing makeup a few years ago, he wrote, “People who do not wear makeup should not be coming out with makeup brands but that’s just my opinion.”
His sentiments were echoed by fellow beauty influencer Manny MUA who wrote, “does anyone else get slightly irritated when celebs come out with entire makeup lines? especially when those celebs don’t even wear makeup… i’m like girl.”
Both tweets are now deleted but were captured in screenshots. While some of their fans were in agreement, many were confused by their comments and made an effort to school the beauty influencers.
Why James Charles issued an apology to Alicia Keys
Charles later realized that Keys doesn’t have plans for a makeup line, but a skincare brand.
After figuring out his mistake, he acknowledged his shady tweet was directed at Keys and issued a public apology on Twitter. In it, Charles said he’s not an industry gatekeeper and apologized for the microaggression.
Following Charles’ lead, Manny MUA also offered up an apology and then admitted he learned a valuable lesson in minding his business.
In his tweet, he said he should have done more research to learn that Keys is working on a skincare line with e.l.f. MUA also stated he rushed to judgment and assumed this was just another celebrity entering the beauty business as “a cash grab.” He ended his note by saying there’s room in the beauty community for everyone.
Keys has not responded to any of the commentary. According to e.l.f., the new brand will also allow her to explore and promote inner beauty.
The company’s had major success creating TikTok campaigns with original music, so it will be interesting to see if Keys lends her musical talents to this partnership too.
