To be ‘cancelled’ as an influencer seems to be a rite of passage these days. We’ve all seen it- an influencer blows up online, gets (much too) comfortable in their bubble of privilige, and old controversial texts or tweets resurface to shake the internet.
Then comes the infamous apology video- which is a little less of an apology and more of an opportunity to show off their acting skills. Whether it’s tears, voice breaks or their fingers rubbing their foreheads in sorrow, these videos tend to become an additional focal point of scrutiny for the influencer involved.
Think Sienna Mae Gomez, who created an interpretative dance as a form of an apology after she was accused of sexual assault in the early 2020s.
Or, think Colleen Ballinger, who decided the best way to deal with grooming allegations was to create a song on her ukelele.
AI itself wouldn’t be able to recreate the thought processes of these people.
The more the internet sees through these influencers’ guises of shame and regret for their actions that have upset their fans (which, let’s be honest, are just superfluous attempts at trying to save their careers), the more it displays an exhaustion for this inevitable cycle.
In the midst of the James Charles Spirit Airlines scandal, this raises the question- is the dawn of influencer fatigue amongst us?
The Spirit Airlines scandal, explained
I know what you’re all thinking- what has James Charles done this time?
The 27-year-old American Youtuber and makeup artist is all the internet can talk about- and it’s BAD.
If James has proven himself to be anything across the extent of his career, it’s that he is nothing but out of touch.
Charles has had his fair share of controversy as an influencer, but he seems to have outdone himself in an unbelievable Tiktok clip that has ruined the public’s perception of him.
The controversy began with the closing of Spirit Airlines at the beginning of May, a budget-friendly airline that saw a whopping 17,000 workers out of a job.
In an alarming outburst filled with profanity, verbal abuse and an alarmingly uneccessary amount of frustration, James took to Tiktok to rant in a now deleted video, dressed in a lavish bath robe.
He began by mocking a woman who had reached out to him by Instagram DM, putting on a sad, desperate tone as he impersonated what she had told him: ‘Good morning James, I know you’ll probably never see this but if you could just take one minute to read it would really mean a lot to me. I’m really struggling right now because Spirit Airlines just filed for bankruptcy and I’ve lost my job. Here’s the go fund me link. Any donations help.’
He finished recounting the incident by breaking into a manic laughter, before beginning to explain what it was that was irritated him about the incident. Clasping his hands together, he agressively stated: ‘‘I’m sure they do, sweetheart. I’m sure they do. You know what else would help you? Getting another job.’
The internet was shocked by his appalling statements- with many fans confused and believing that he was acting out some sort of skit.
Some people were additionally under the impression the bizarre content of the tiktok was satire- but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
‘Yeah, try that! Because in the time it took you to copy and paste the same ass message to myself, who you don’t follow, by the way, and probably a hundred other influencers and celebrities, you could have applied for a hundred other jobs, but you didn’t, because you’re a lazy piece of sh*t, and you’re entitled.’
‘Why? Why would I ever help you? You’re not a fan, you don’t even follow me, you’ve never supported me. This is your first time DMing. And you think I’m gonna send you money? Because you lost your job? Oh my god, welcome to the real world, sweetheart!’
‘Why would I f*cking help you?’ He pressed on, getting more and more vicious.
It’s giving when Kim Kardashian said: ‘Get your f*cking a** up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.’
Yikes.
The ‘Influencer Relatability Era’ is dead
The overtone of ignorance that dominates the entirety of James’ spew of verbal abuse displays just how out of touch influencers can be- and how their interactions with the pthat comes with their fame can cause direct damage to their audiences.
James’ ease in adopting a bully-like stance as he exploits another human’s financial weaknesses speaks volumes of what kind of influencer he is, and what it is influencers now represent.
The video can alternatively be perceived as an emblem of the growing disconnect we feel between the deluxe, comfortable worlds of influencers and the meagre, unspoken global recession that is currently crushing the working class.
Influencers used to be fun, witty and posess a relatability that we could share with them through the screen.
Yet these days, creators are all following the same patterns. Famous faces whose content might have once been used as a form of an escapism for audiences are now trading in their originality for relevancy.
Such drastic changes involve wealth, fame and status hardening their characters in the cutthroat quest to stay relevant- something like a social media ‘survival of the fittest’ with the rise of platforms such as Tiktok.
With an abundance of money comes a mask of entitlement and ignorance- and it’s disturbing to watch their privilige and entitlement consume their mundane realism and empathy in real time.
Platforms such as Youtube were once a gold mine for influencer individuality from the 2010s onwards because viral channels were characterised by their unique, refreshing differentiation, rather than their synonymity.
The introduction of shorter content videos on the internet and the loss of interest in platforms such as Youtube means that the title of ‘influencer’ has undergone a drastic change. Today, there seems to be an abundance of the same copy-and-paste content, aesthetics and lifestyles, and everything feels much more superficial and forced.
Influencer fatigue seems to be a growing phenomenon because the internet no longer cares about influencers’ flaunts of wealth and luxury. People are tired of seeing the same, ingenuine content; people are exhausted with the like-minded approaches to synthesising content.
It’s almost impossible to decipher whether individuals online are being genuine or performative for the online engagement- and this is where the problem lies.
Incidents such as James Charles’ most recent controversy are reflective of the shallow, plastic, inhumane faces of influencers when you pull back the curtain of influencer sophistication and glamour.
James’ words aren’t just hurtful- they’re ignorant
It’s no wonder that James’ words ruffled as many feathers as it did.
In America, human necessities are slowly becoming luxuries; day to day survival is becoming unaffordable.
Today, the sense of disillusionment that is gripping both MAGA voters and non-voters due to Trump’s failures to carry out his promises of a more accessible America is dominating the country’s political climate.
He had previously made the declaration that prices in America would be brought down, ‘starting on day one.’
Just two days after winning the election, he dismissed an imminent economic recession, making the claim that ‘Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down…so I don’t want to hear about the affordability.’
With a president that prioritises arduous wars in the Middle East over the mundane financial struggles of the working class of his own country, it is no wonder that 9 in 10 Americans believe the US is experiencing a full-blown cost of living crisis, with 8 in 10 believing that everything has become more expensive since 2025.
Trump’s decision to attack Iran on Feb 28 has seen an exponential surge in fuel prices- with gas prices hitting a national average of $4 a gallon, the highest they’ve been since 2022. Artificial intelligence has already begun to impact the labour market. And, for some time, the US job market has been described as being stuck in a hiring recession.
James’ disgustingly priviliged standpoint overlooks the fact that he is, in fact, not a part of this ‘real world’ of financial and economic brutality.
Asking for help does not make you ‘lazy’ or an ‘entitled piece of sh*t.’ When your lifestyle consists of brand deals, sponsored holidays and speaking into a camera for a living, the comprehension of the working class struggle and realities become incomprehensible.
The disconnect between global realities and James’ own words reveal his inconsistent, out-of-touch haughtiness. If anyone has proven themselves to be ‘entitled’, it is Mr. James Charles himself.
Unfortunately, Charles’ tiktok has proven he has no sense of class consciousness. To propose the claim that the ex-Spirit Airlines employee believes that ‘influencers should fund [her life]’ is incredibly ironic, as the relevancy of his own career has risen from the help, support and the views of others.
With a massive platform comes a massive level of responsibility. It is no secret that Gen-Z have approached pop-culture with an intense critical lens across the past decade.
With the emergence of ‘cancel culture’ in early 2020, our generation have been unashamed to hold influencers, youtubers and celebrities accountable for their actions.
Having already lost thousands of followers across Tiktok and Youtube across the past few weeks, it is evident that things will not be any different for James Charles.
The aftermath of the controversy, explained
Of course, the James Charles apology machine has been geared into motion since the Tiktok’s inevitable backlash- and his PR team has clearly been working overtime.
The internet tore him to pieces- and with the extent of negativity surrounding the video’s response, came three different apology videos regarding the incident.
James’ first apology video was a little less of an apology and more of a defence of his prior words, arguing that unlike himself, people these days do not have what he labelled a ‘make it work’ mentality’, nor posess the drive to change their financial situations.
This video was quickly deleted, and replaced with another, in which he admitted, from his bed, that the video was ‘rude’ and ‘completely f*cking uneccessary.’ He also explained that ‘When I saw the dm i absolutely had the choice to ignore it and say nothing at all and move on with my day, but instead, i couldn’t even tell you why- her message just triggered me.’
Ultimately, this video was also deleted due to the overwhelming amount of attacks in the comments against the influencer, regarding his evidently fake empathy when confronting the situation.
Way to add fuel to the fire, James.
After all of the controversies that James Charles has landed himself in across the extent of his career, you would think that he would be a pro at apology videos by now.
In his third video, James had found his clothes, was not in bed this time and offered a more broad apology, declaring he was going to ‘educate himself’ on the current economic crisis in America.
‘The intention behind that video was not to accuse anybody unemployed of being lazy and it was also not to accuse any hardworking people of not working hard enough…but that is how the video came across and I feel f*cking terrible for contributing to those narratives.’
He did, however, admit he had been in a ‘privileged secluded little influencer bubble.’
How did the ex-Spirit Airlines worker react to the video?
Upon being the recipient of the internet’s disapproval, Charles reached back out to Amber, donating $500 to her Gofundme, as well as going on a mass donation spree for other ex-Spirit Airlines employees.
Amber took to social media herself to reveal the message James had privately sent her: ‘Hi Amber. I wanted to reach out to you privately with an apology for the video I made. It was disgraceful and completely unecessary, and there is no excuse for me yelling at and berating someone for asking for help in a sh**ty situation that was completely out of control.’
She captioned the post: ‘You apologized in private after embarassing me publicly.’
‘But some damage doesn’t disappear just because you finally feel guilty.’
‘I heard the apology. I just don’t accept it.’
Debunking the influencer scandal cycle
People are exhausted with the out of touch, tone-deaf attitudes that seem to be a part of the influencer job description.
Incidents like these have also sparked the circulation of certain discourses online- how much grace can we as an audience give influencers for their controversies?
And how many controversies are too many controversies that we, as the internet, should revoke our support from their platforms?
The reason why influencers are never held accountable for their actions is partly due to the fast-paced constancy of the internet.
Social media in itself has a short attention spam, and is continuously aflame with new scandal after scandal. Because of this, viewer boredom of a controversial influencer, or a specific situation manifests into viewer leniency- and time passing becomes an apology.
That’s why, after a year in hiding, the internet has no choice but to forget and move on. Everyone deserves another chance, after all.
But do they?
James Charles has long been the face of the ‘Rich Influencer Problem’
The issue was never with James declining to pay the Gofundme. It was his very clear showcase of the huge empathy gap of today’s society.
People who are struggling to survive whilst millionaires such as James (whose net worth of $20 million does little to nothing in contribution to a functioning society) mock the working class for not ‘working hard enough’ and pressure them to ‘just work harder.’
Jackie Asmoah, another famous beauty guru and influencer, spoke on the situation, rightfully stating ‘That’s probably one of the worst things I’ve ever seen an influencer say willingly on camera.’
‘As a white man, you can turn on your camera, talk absolutely crazy out the side of your neck. That’s going warrant zero consequences for you.’
To claim at 27 years of age that you will just begin to educate and inform yourself on the political and economic state of the world (only at a time when your career is on the line, might I add) takes an excruciating amount of privilige.
To act with such arrogance towards the individuals who have constructed your career on the basis of their parasocial support is suggestive of the wider narcissistic complex the influencer posseses.
To attack somebody from a place of superiority and exploiting a moment of vulnerability is not comical- it’s cruel. A lack of empathy is killing our society- and the tone deaf attitudes that influencers not only encourage but practice are worsening this societal issue.
It should not come as a shock to anybody that the dawn of influencer fatigue is amongst us- yet we still have a long way to go to fully and successfully hold these influencers accountable for their inhumane actions.
Unfortunately, it seems that Asmoah is right – James’ white privilege, as well as his influencer privilege, will definitely save him from this scandal… the way it always does.
For more on this topic, click here The Internet Has A “Rich Influencer” Problem, And James Charles Is The Face Of It. – YouTube
If you’d like further insight on problematic influencers, click here Popularity Can’t Buy Ethics, and Traveling Influencers are Proof
