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| James Charles said that feeling "desperate" led him to being reckless with relationships. (Photo by= Getty Images) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] Beauty YouTuber James Charles admitted sending sexually explicit messages to two 16-year-old boys. "I fully understand my actions and how they are wrong," the 21-year-old influencer said in a video posted to his YouTube channel on Thursday.
BBC said that allegations against Charles first emerged on social media earlier this year. In February, the influencer - who has 25 million subscribers to his YouTube channel - was accused by one teenager of grooming, which Charles denied, saying he flirted with the person because he believed the boy to be 18. Charles had denied previous accusations, but in Thursday's video, titled "Holding myself accountable", he admitted wrongdoing.
He says there were two incidents - one last year and one more recent. "These conversations should have never happened," Charles said in the 14-minute video. He admitted he could have searched for them on other social media platforms and found their real ages. He also publicly apologized to the boys and said he would take time away from posting on social media to "educate" himself about these issues. He ended his video vowing to be more cautious in the future and stop treating his social media accounts as dating apps. The scandal isn’t the first time the beauty influencer has faced controversy.
