The Internet Hates James Charles Again... But This Time I Agree With Him

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Brett Cooper Show

Episode: “The Internet Hates James Charles Again... But This Time I Agree With Him”

Date: May 14, 2026 | Host: Brett Cooper

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Overview

In this episode, Brett Cooper tackles the recent James Charles controversy, in which the beauty influencer was “canceled,” again, for a harsh video response to a laid-off Spirit Airlines employee asking for help via GoFundMe. Brett unpacks both the backlash and the nuanced truths underlying Charles’ outburst, using the moment to discuss cultural shifts in entitlement, influencer responsibility, public generosity, and the “morality police” of TikTok. As the discussion unfolds, Brett invites listeners to examine expectations around parasocial relationships and giving, drawing comparisons with the viral generosity of celebrities like Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Incident: James Charles’ Viral Video

• Context: Spirit Airlines shut down, leaving employees jobless. An alleged former employee DMed James Charles with a GoFundMe link (“They left me without a job, anything will help.”)
• Charles’ Response Video:
  • In an angry TikTok, he accused the DM sender of being “lazy,” “entitled,” and expecting unearned charity from influencers.
  • Emphasized the DM took as much effort as applying to jobs, but the sender “chose” to beg instead.
  • Notably harsh, personal, and included commentary about the sender’s appearance and privilege.
• Key quote:

  “In the time that it took you to copy and paste the same fuck ass message to myself... you could have applied for a hundred other jobs, but you didn’t because you’re a lazy piece of shit and you’re entitled…”
  — James Charles [02:33]

2. The Backlash & Apology Tour

• Instant Outcry: The Internet exploded with criticism for Charles’ insensitivity, language, and for referencing the sender’s race and health.
  • “You aren’t being woke enough... This is so grotesque.”
• Charles’ (First) Follow-Up: Deleted original video, posted about “owning” his out-of-touchness but not apologizing per se.
  • Quote:

    “I am out of touch, first and foremost. Okay? I am never gonna be one of those influencers that gets online and pretends to be poor so I can come across as relatable…”
    — James Charles [05:09]

• Second Attempt: Admitted it was “fucking stupid, rude, privileged, and fucking unnecessary.”
  • Acknowledged he could have ignored the DM rather than shaming someone who might be “at their last resort.”
  • Quote:

    “This video was fucking stupid. It was rude, it was obnoxious. It was privileged, and most importantly, it was completely fucking unnecessary.”
    — James Charles [06:27]

• Brett’s POV:
  • Notes the absurdity of public outrage at Charles behaving “exactly as expected.”
  • Observes that Charles is a repeated offender—his “worst crime” here is “just being too honest.”
    • Quote:

      “His worst crime is just being too honest, is letting his intrusive thoughts win.”
      — Brett [05:52]

3. The Broader Pattern: This Isn’t New

• Past Rants: Six months ago, Charles posted nearly identical complaints about DMs for money—then, commenters found it funny.
  • Quote:

    “No, you can’t have $100,000, you dumb… Oh my God, no.”
    — James Charles [10:28]

• Cultural Commentary:
  • Brett highlights the quick shift from joking approval (six months prior) to moral outrage now, pointing to social media’s “TikTok morality police.”
    • Quote:

      “Everybody was hee-heeing along with James Charles until the TikTok morality police came out.”
      — Brett [11:39]

4. Where Do People Actually Stand?

• Mixed Public Sentiment: Some commenters agreed with Charles’ point (not his presentation), others condemned him entirely.
  • TikTokers and Redditors noted asking random strangers—especially non-followed influencers—for money is “weird,” though Charles’ delivery was unnecessarily cruel.
  • Quote:

    “James went about it so awfully, but at the end of the day I agree with him 100%.”
    — Reddit comment, paraphrased by Brett [14:49]

5. Influencer Responses & Contrasts

• Abby Herbert Example: Influencer who did the opposite, quietly and kindly gifting a stroller to a random follower who asked.

  • Quote:

    “Do you want to know what I did? Very simple and very easy. I responded back... It's that simple.”
    — Abby Herbert [20:42]

  • Brett sees this as wholesome, but acknowledges that cold-ask DMs—even for good causes—feel “a bit odd.”

• Enter: Gypsy Rose Blanchard!

  • Donates and leaves a self-promotional GoFundMe comment.
  • Brett finds the meta-irony (“our 9.3 million follower savior”) hilarious and symbolic of the “influencer” circus.
    • Quote:

      “Thank you, Gypsy Rose, our 9.3 million follower savior.”
      — Brett [21:27]

6. The Larger Conversation: Giving, Entitlement, and Social Norms

• Brett’s Position: Generosity is great and often moving—but it should be voluntary, not an entitlement extracted on demand.

• Comparative Cases:

  • Taylor Swift: Cited as a model for quiet, voluntary giving; multiple stories of her finding and funding fans in need, unprompted.
    • Quote:

      “Taylor used to scroll GoFundMe like a social media app, clicking ‘reach their donation’... She was donating $300,000, whatever it was.”
      — Ruby Rose (via Brett) [25:00]

  • Nicki Minaj: Paid fans’ tuitions in exchange for proof of grades; went “dead serious” on social media and later with Ellen and Walmart.

• Analysis:

  • Social media makes extreme wealth highly visible and might create expectation inflation among fans/followers.
  • Brett argues the “handout” DM phenomena is a product of both economic hardship and changing cultural comfort with direct, public asks.

7. Final Thoughts: Nuance and Expectations

• Key Point:
  • Two things can be true: Charles’ delivery was mean and unnecessary, but there’s merit to the underlying sentiment about online entitlement and the strange expectations now attached to influencer-fan relationships.
• Brett’s Recommendation:
  • Save outrage for things that are “actually unexpected.”
  • People should not expect strangers—or celebrities—to fulfill financial needs, and certainly not by cold-asking via DM.
    • Quote:

      “Please stop DMing people asking for money.”
      — Brett [End]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote / Moment| |-------------|---------------|--------------| | [02:33] | James Charles | “You could have applied for a hundred other jobs, but you didn’t because you’re a lazy piece of shit and you’re entitled…” | | [05:09] | James Charles | “I am out of touch, first and foremost. Okay? I am never gonna be one of those influencers that gets online and pretends to be poor so I can come across as relatable…” | | [06:27] | James Charles | “This video was fucking stupid. It was rude, it was obnoxious. It was privileged, and most importantly, it was completely fucking unnecessary.” | | [11:39] | Brett Cooper | “Everybody was hee-heeing along with James Charles until the TikTok morality police came out.” | | [14:49] | Redditor | “James went about it so awfully, but at the end of the day I agree with him 100%.” (Paraphrased by Brett) | | [20:42] | Abby Herbert | “I responded back and I said, hi, what’s your best shipping address?... It’s that simple.” | | [21:27] | Brett Cooper | “Thank you, Gypsy Rose, our 9.3 million follower savior.” | | [25:00] | Ruby Rose (via Brett) | “Taylor used to scroll GoFundMe like a social media app, clicking ‘reach their donation’... She was donating $300,000, whatever it was.” | | [wrap-up] | Brett Cooper | “Please stop DMing people asking for money.” |

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Key Timestamps

• [00:46] Introduction of the James Charles/Spirit Airlines GoFundMe controversy
• [02:33] James Charles’ original brutal TikTok response
• [05:09] Charles’ first follow-up, owning his “out of touche-ness”
• [06:27] Second video—full apology and admission of error
• [08:35] Flashback to Charles’ earlier rants about DM GoFundMes
• [14:30] Sample comments: Some agree with core points, others hate delivery
• [20:42] Abby Herbert’s contrasting charitable gesture
• [21:27] Gypsy Rose’s self-promotional GoFundMe donation
• [23:00+] Stories of celebrity giving (Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, etc.)
• [End] Brett’s concluding thoughts on entitlement, generosity, and public expectations

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Tone and Style Notes

• Brett’s tone is irreverent, self-aware, and comedic, with a heavy dose of pop culture and social commentary.
• Throughout, Brett invites listeners to set aside outrage, consider nuance, and laugh at internet absurdities while also reflecting honestly on evolving cultural norms.

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Takeaways

• James Charles’ “crime” was delivery, not the core message.
• The Internet’s outrage is cyclical and often performative.
• Generic asks from strangers—especially influencers—are awkward, but voluntary generosity is still to be celebrated.
• Cultural norms around money, fame, and entitlement are changing, for better and for worse.
• Above all: Don’t be surprised when the loudest voices online are... loud.

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Transcript

[Brett]

This episode is brought to you by. Prime Obsession is in session. And this summer, prime originals have everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice off campus. Elle every year after the love hypothesis, Sterling point and more slow burns, second chances, chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. Hey, sisters, if you are looking for proof that sometimes getting canceled on the Internet does nothing to you or your brand, then look no further than James Charles, because I think that this man has made more apology videos than anybody on the Internet and it just keeps on going.

[James Charles]

Hi, all. James here.

[Brett]

And this time, guys, unfortunately, I think I might agree with him. Just bear with me. Now, before we dive into this story, I just want to remind you guys that on May 19, that is next week, I will be doing another show at Zany. So if you are in Nashville, in the greater Nashville, middle Tennessee area, come on out. We still have tickets available. The link will be in the bio. I tell stories, basically do a live version of the show. We make fun of my favorite things on the Internet, per usual. So it's just a good time. May 19th at Zany's. Go check it out. All right. I am so excited about this episode. James Charles is such a fricking trip. I don't even have words to describe the type of person he is. Where he came from. He just kind of had to be there. But TL Dr. He is an OG influencer, one of the first, first ever makeup beauty influencers. He was friends with, like, the Dolan twins and Emma Chamberlain, if those names ring any bells for you. Jeffree star that whole world, and he just constantly seems to be in hot water. And this week is no different. So in order to talk about this story, you do need a tiny bit of context here. And so two weeks ago, this is really all you need to know. But two weeks ago, Spirit Airlines officially closed its doors. Now there's a whole political debate about whether we need to blame Elizabeth Warren or Trump, all that stuff. Delta is now getting all the Spirit airline passengers. So good. Good luck, Delta. Anyway, they closed its doors, Most importantly, leaving 17,000 people out of work and one of these employees, or I guess, alleged employees. We have no idea who this person is. DMed this mega influencer, James Charles, a link to her GoFundMe and I'll put the message up on the screen so you can see this. She's saying, they left me without a job. Anything will help. Now, James was in his DMs scrolling. One night maybe looking for teenage boys. I don't know. Sorry. And he read this DM and he decided to make a TikTok about it. And tldr he let his. His intrusive thoughts win. So let's just watch his response. This is what set the Internet into a tizzy.

[James Charles]

I just got a DM on here from a girl that said, 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 have lost my job. Here's a GoFundMe link. Any donations help? I'm sure they do, sweetheart. I'm sure they do. You know what else would help you? Getting another job. Yeah, try that. Because in the time that it took you to copy and paste the same fuck ass message to myself, who you don't follow, by the way, and probably 100 other influencers and celebrities, you could have applied for a hundred other jobs, but you didn't because you're a lazy piece of shit and you're entitled and you think the influencers is and celebrities should fund your life for you. 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 that I'm gonna send you money because you lost your job? Oh, my God. Welcome to the real world, sweetheart. People lose their jobs every fucking day. And you're white, pretty and able bodied. You're in a much better position than a lot of other people out here who are trying clearly much harder to make a better life for themselves. Why would I fucking help you?

[Brett]

Okay, so. So that is just one minute of the video. He actually goes on for two minutes and 30 seconds. Now we are going to talk about the content of that video, the point that he's making, the things that unfortunately I do agree with. But first you need to see the reaction because people were outraged, to put it mildly. Now the Internet, immediately they started melting down.

[James Charles]

I'm just feeling really sad.

[Brett]

He saw the comments and so he raced back over to TikTok and he deleted the video. Now, as I saw all of this transpire and I was reading the comments from people being like, you're entitled. You have no reason to talk about her being white and able bodied because you aren't being woke enough. You aren't doing this. This is so grotesque. I can't believe this is coming for you. I mean, everybody was losing their effing minds. And I was sitting here reading all this and I was like, I don't know why anybody wouldn't expect this from James Charles again. He has a new controversy every six months because he can't close his mouth. He probably has a notes app full of apology drafts that he just has ready to go anytime he gets in hot water. He has been canceled and then uncanceled or I guess just like gotten back into the Internet's good graces like a hundred times at this point, he was literally exp for sliding into the DMs of underaged boys. Like, come on, people, I can't believe you would do this is not some saint we are dealing with. Like, please stop clutching your pearls and save the outrage. Anyway, so that was my initial response. And like I said, he took down the video, took time to think, he read the comments, and then he came back and he posted this, deleting the

[James Charles]

video that I posted yesterday, talking about people who send me gofundme links that have never followed supported DM me before, just begging for money. And most people were like enjoying the video, saying it was a valid point. But it definitely started causing some discourse in the comments. And a lot of people were just saying it was out of touch and insensitive. And they're right. It was definitely a harsh choice of words. Maybe not my best video and I deleted it. But of course, the Internet is forever. And now a lot of content creators are using like the 5 second clip in the very beginning where I'm like, you're a lazy piece of get a new job to upload their cute little thing pieces being like, influencers are all so out of touch. This is so, so disgusting. You don't know how hard it is in the job market these days. Oh, my God, give me a. I am out of touch, first and foremost. Okay? I am never gonna be one of those influencers that gets online and pretends to be poor so I can come across as relatable to my audience.

[Brett]

I mean, like, we're. Again, we're gonna get into this. But James Charles, worst crime in this sense. Not the worst thing he's ever done, obviously, but his worst crime is just being too honest is letting his intrusive thoughts win. He literally says, yeah, I am out of touch. Sorry. Like, at least he's not trying to fake authenticity and relatability, so I'll give him props for that. However, apparently a lot of the Internet does not See it the same way that I do. And that video just increased the backlash. Cause they looked at that and they were like, that's not actually an apology. And so James Charles tried again. He deleted that video. And then he posted yet another one. Here we go. Watch this.

[James Charles]

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 Day. But instead, I couldn't even tell you why. Her message just triggered me, and I decided instead to make a video about it. And 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. I don't know. I just don't know anybody that saw that video and was disappointed or upset with what I said. I am super sorry, especially to the woman from Spirit Airlines. I did try to look for her message earlier before making this video, and I couldn't find it.

[Brett]

Okay, Just. All of it is so, so ridiculous. I am so sorry to the woman from Spirit Airlines. Like, it's just a comedy. We have to be able to laugh at this stuff. I genuinely. I can't comprehend being somebody that is watching all of this transpire and has such a parasocial relationship, has so little going on their life that they're sitting on TikTok being like, James, I'm so disappointed. Like, people. Now I sound like James Charles, but I'm like, people, like, please move on and get a life. Anyway, that apology also did not do the trick. It just made people even more angry. It was like, that's not genuine enough. You didn't care enough. And so guess what, guys? He deleted that one as well. So now, as of Wednesday when I'm filming this, all of the videos have been deleted, which is just very James Charles. I think he was just desperately trying to appease his audience, appease the mob. He ended up caving. He donated to the GoFundMe afterwards. All probably, like, fine in his screechy James Charles voice. But moving on, guys, this is where it gets even more ridiculous. And I get more excited about this story because it is so absurd, which is what is so insane about the apology tour that he did all of the Outrage online is the fact that less than a year ago, in November of last year, James posted a video with the exact same sentiment on his spam account. Watch this.

[James Charles]

Stop asking me for money. Oh, my. I don't know if any other influencer has to deal with this, but holy. I probably get 100 messages a day from people, and every single one is the same. Hi, you. I know that you're never gonna see this, but I love you. I enjoy your content so much. Your videos really make me smile. Even on my worst days. Which, by the way, speaking of, today is my worst day because my mom died. And then I got diagnosed with a really, really rare disease. And I was on the way to the hospital for an appointment for that disease, and somebody hit my car. And then my car exploded and my leg flew off. So I hopped home on my one leg. And then when I opened my front door, water came rushing out and my whole house was flooded. And now I'm homeless. So can you please send me $100,000? Because I'm your really big fan girl.

[Brett]

Winter is so last season. And now spring's got you looking at pictures of tank tops with hungry eyes. Your algorithm is feeding you cutoffs. You're thirsty for the sun on your shoulders that perfect hang on the patio sundress. Those sandals you can wear all day and all night. And you've had enough of shopping from your couch. Done. Hoping it looks anything like the picture when you tear open that envelope. It's time for a little in person spring treat. It's time for a trip to Ross. Work your magic. And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show. Hey, everyone. Check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date? Oh, no.

[James Charles]

We help people customize and save on

[Brett]

car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird. Yeah, the bird looks out of your league. Anyways, get a [e-mail] or with your local agent.

[James Charles]

Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty. And then you look at the top of the DM and they're not even following you. Get the out of here with that generic ass copied and pasted ass chat. GP generated ass, America's Got Talent Golden Buzzer sob story. No, you can't have $100,000, you dumb. Oh, my God, no. And even worse, out of the hundred messages that I get of that per day, I would say instead of the hey, you at the top, six or seven of them are. Hey, Mr. Beast. Hey, Mr. Wrong Influencer. Sweetie, this is why you're fucking $100,000 in debt. Because you're a moron who couldn't even spend 30 fucking seconds proofreading to make sure that you weren't sending the same name as the last message that you sent. Or God forbid, that you customize it a little bit. Sprinkle a little bit of personality into there. Hey, James, your makeup really makes me smile. I love your five minute crafts videos, your collab with xy. Like, oh my God, no effort at all. No one's helping you, babe.

[Brett]

Okay, guys, so this video also goes on for another minute and a half. But the reason why I am showing you this is because this is not new. James has been talking about this. This apparently has been a stupid stress in his life for a while. So it is absurd that the Internet now is like, oh my goodness. It's like we talked about yesterday with euphoria saying retarded. It's like, oh, now you've crossed the line when there's been sex and drugs and incest and rape. But oh my God, they said retarded. Like, oh, now I sound like James Charles. Like, I feel him in this video. I'm like, oh my God, I feel the stress. I get it. Like, I feel like he is my alter ego as I am doing the show. Anyway, so I wanted to show you guys that for two reasons. Number one, because he's been talking about it for a while, so people should not be freaking out. And number two, because at the time, six months ago, not only was he talking about it, but everyone in the comments thought it was hilarious. They were all joking around in the comments with him. Like, somebody posted this meme and was like, bad time to ask for $40. Another person said, this is actually funny. Somebody else said, all I heard was to make sure I'm following you before I asked for 100k. That's literally the craziest part. Going back to the original story, this woman from Spirit Airlines not even following him. Like, I guarantee she was just sending out random DMs, which is fine, like, shoot your shot, I guess, but it's his prerogative to be like, I don't know you. You're not even a fan. I have no connection with you whatsoever. This is ridiculous. And apparently it's been happening a long time. And even more so, people are confusing him with MrBeast, like, not even knowing who he is. So hello. My point actually stands. Even More, nobody should be shocked about the video that he posted 48 hours ago. Literally nobody. Because six months ago y' all were all in the comments. That video has over 2 million likes at this point. Everybody was hee heeing along with James Charles until the TikTok morality police came out and told you that it was inappropriate, that it was entitled, that it but it was out of touch and that you all needed to get mad when six months ago everybody was in on the joke. Now, to be fair, it's not the entire Internet that is losing their minds. There were some brave soldiers on TikTok who did say they agreed with him. Like this girl, just watch this. I was watching the video. I was low key, thinking real. I'm not gonna lie, because what the fuck are you fucking doing? If a random was asking me for money, I'd do the same shit. Go get a job. Especially from someone who you don't even support. Like, go get a fucking job. I don't know and I know that is an out of touch opinion, but is it really that out of touch? Is it? And now in her comment section, there were a lot of people that didn't necessarily disagree with him, but they just didn't like the way that he presented it. They were like, maybe you could have done it a little differently. Like somebody said, james went about it so awfully, but at the end of the day I agree with him 100%. And then somebody on Reddit in a whole thread that was talking about this said, I personally don't think that GoFundMe is the solution to everything. Contacting celebrities, begging for money is weird as fuck, but boy would I just ignore it if that was me. Making videos about it. And mocking people is tone deaf af Just get another job from a person who will never experience that struggle. Very clear sign that he has completely lost touch with reality and has absolutely no clue how the real world works and how normal people problems look like. And then somebody responded to her on Reddit and said, right, I'm sitting here thinking, I don't really disagree with him, but it could have been handled way differently. And guys, two things can be true at once. Nuance is important. Nuance obviously is a lost art online. We talk about that all the time. But in line with those, those commenters, what we just read, the video we just watched, like that is also where I have landed personally. Here's the thing, although I do not think that James Charles is a good person nor anyone that anybody should be looking up to, I hate to say that he did highlight a very weird thing in our culture which is people being so open about just like asking for money and handouts from people that they do not know. Like he said, this person did not even follow him, had never DMed him before, was not a fan, had no personalized part of the message, was not like a I'm such a fan. You inspired me in this way. This is my story. Just hi, here's a link. Can I have money like actually sending the GoFundMe link before even saying hello. Now on that note, if you look in the description below, there is a link where you can support local American farmers and ranchers through my friends over at Good Ranchers and you absolutely should do that. I did not realize how much time and mental energy I was spending on grocery shopping until I stopped doing it as much because planning meals and running to the store, second guessing what to buy, especially when you have a baby and a career, all the things, it just adds up. And so having high quality meat show up at my door once a month, it just makes everything easier. It is one less thing to worry about and that is why we love our Good Rancher subscription. So Good Ranchers partners with local farmers and ranchers all around America to deliver 100% US raised meat straight to your door. It is pasture raised, has no antibiotics, no added hormones. It is better than organic. 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And Standout tells the true story of Ben Kerr who was a young man who was born with a rare genetic condition that made him look different growing up. And because of that, obviously he dealt with years and years of bullying in school, feeling like he did not belong, like he did not have a future But Ben made the choice not to avoid that struggle or hide. He chose to go through all of the doubt and pain, and he turned it into strength as he fell in love with wrestling. And so, by channeling all of this pain and following his passion, ignoring all of the many naysayers, he became a five times national high school wrestling champion, which is crazy. And the movie Standout is his story. This is a movie that genuinely makes you better by watching it. So to see Standout, just go to angel.com Brett to join the Angel Guild and stream Standout today again, angel dot. All right, now back to James Charles and his social faux pas. Yes, I agree. James could have very easily just ignored the dm, let it wash over him, move on with his day, probably would've been for the best. He could have avoided the controversy that he is in. But also, like I keep saying, it is James Charles that we are dealing with here. Like, who is surprised? He is not really politically correct, even though he desperately wants to be. He desperately wants to be woke. He is a loudmouth and he posted something that, in terms of normal social etiquette, is not very appropriate. But also, he kind of does that every single day. What makes this okay, even crazier? I know I keep going on these side rants, but what makes it so crazy is that literally last week, James went viral for a very similar video. He posted a video where he was saying, hey, we need to hire a social media assistant for me. So if you want to apply, here are these specific instructions. And he laid it out. He was like, I want a portfolio. I want you to submit a video, a type of video that you would suggest me making on this channel in lieu of an application. He made those instructions very clear. They were in the caption and in the video. And then he posted it, went on his way. Then he came back 24 hours later and he was screaming at his audience as he normally does. And he was like, none of you people read the instructions. And he was like, I got hundreds and hundreds of applications and nobody sent a portfolio, nobody sent a video. And I had people in my comments being like, james, pick me. I wanna do it. And then he would reply and be like, yes, please apply. And they would respond to him and go, how do I do that? And so rightfully, he got on his page and he was like, did nobody watch the video? Does nobody care? And he was like, is this why people can't get jobs and are lazy and all of these things? He was like, you're not even reading the Instructions more. So you're applying for a job, not submitting the necessary things, and then being upset that I'm not giving you an interview. I know that that's a whole other tangent. This is not new for James.

[James Charles]

Block me then, fatty.

[Brett]

He screeches all day long on the Internet, honestly, more than I do about very relatable things. Which I hate to say it because I don't think he's a good person, but he says the thing that I think a lot of people in their heart of hearts, in the deepest parts of their mind, the recesses of their minds that they are thinking. And so, unfortunately, even though, yeah, this probably wasn't the best thing to post, he made a good point. Somebody sending that DM when you are not a fan is strange. And he's also not the first person who has gotten reamed online for not just handing out money. This is now a very infamous meme. You might Remember back in 2016, a fan tweeted at the star of Jane the Virgin, whose name is Gina Rodriguez. And this fan was asking for help. So she said, here is Gina. Please help a struggling Latina sister who can't afford to pay her tuition. Just literally just tweeted that at her. And Gina replied and said, have you looked into the Hispanic Scholarship Fund? There are a few places to look for help. Mama, let's research. And now over a decade later, people still mock this and they're like, mama, let's research. And it's used as kind of a blow off entitled, I'm better than you. I don't need to help you. She's. She got destroyed online for that response. She was actually trying to help the girl. She works with this organization. She was like, hey, look into this. This is an organization that I work with. You should look into that. They will help you pay for your tuition. Like, for a minute there, people were not sure if her career would recover because the backlash was so intense. Honestly, between that and her accidentally uploading a song with the N word in it on her story, like in peak BLM era, that was kind of enough to stall her forever. So I guess maybe it did get destroyed. But anyway, moving on from that, the point is, this has become a hot button issue in our culture. And this whole thing with James has now been blown so out of proportion that now other influencers are jumping in and making videos about how they respond to DMs. Like, for example, look at this video that Abby Herbert just uploaded.

[Abby Herbert]

A follower just sent me this dm and it says, Hi, I'm in desperate need of a Zoe double side by side stroller. Would you be able to gift me one with a heart emoji? And do you want to know what I did? Very simple and very easy. I responded back and I said, hi, what's your best shipping address? Give me your full name and email. It's that simple. I got so lucky. My husband and I lost our jobs back in 2020, and I was so lucky. And I wake up every single day blessed and grateful for the life that I have because of you guys, because of TikTok, because of Instagram, because of the Internet. I'm able to do all of this and take care of my family because of you guys. So why would I not be giving back right now?

[Brett]

The thing is, if you guys are watching on YouTube, you can see that I'm smiling like, that video is very wholesome. It is sweet. I love Abby. I am a follower of hers. I think her family is really cute. She seems like a great mom. It is very sweet and wonderful that she did this for this mom. I know so many people that would do the same thing, but at the same time, just like taking that emotional side out of it, somebody just DMing her out of the blue. Asking for a very specific expensive stroller is also just a bit odd. Like, can we take a step back to acknowledge that now? Probably my favorite side story from this entire controversy is in keeping with this whole, like, influencers now jumping in, trying to, like, fix the situation that James Charles created. But one of the celebrities who jumped in is none other than Gypsy Rose Blanchard. You can see the headline right here. Gypsy Rose donates to laid off Spirit Airlines employee amid James Charles TikTok backlash. And the message that she left on the GoFundMe killed me. Like, remember guys, we are talking about entitlement, all of that stuff. So the comment that you Left on the GoFundMe was, hi, my name is Gypsy Rose Blanchard. I am an influencer on TikTok. I have 9.3 million followers. I'm truly sorry for what happened and I am sending many positive vibes for you. Thank you, gypsy rose, our 9.3 million follower savior. Anyway, back to the point. This is where I hope that this episode really takes a positive turn for everybody because I know I've done the impossible. I have agreed with James Charles. I have asked you to remove emotion to look at a situation. So now we can kind of take a turn here. Because I want you to know, I don't think that influencers and celebrities Giving out money is bad at all. It's actually the contrary. I think it is wonderful. I think it is important that you give back and invest. Invest in the people who built your career for you and gave you a platform. I think it's incredibly important. Just as a normal person, if you don't have this kind of job, to be giving back to your community if you have the resources, all of that is amazing. But I personally love it when individuals do that out of their own volition. And Taylor Swift. I know, I know, I'm talking about Taylor Swift. But Taylor Swift is an amazing example of this. And people love to hate Taylor Swift because she's a billionaire, she's flying around on her private jet, all of the things. And honestly, it would probably help her image a lot if she was more public about how much money she gives away. But that's also what makes it so amazing. Like, listen to these stories. We're just gonna rattle through some of these in case you don't know them. So, for example, in 2019, a fan named Ayesha posted on Tumblr, which, if you know that's Taylor's favorite social media platform, and she was posting about how she was struggling to pay rent and tuition, and she explained that her parents were working minimum wage jobs and her mother had a chronic kidney disease. She was just posting this to her friends. And within two hours, Taylor Swift, who, it's long been established she follows many of her big super fans on all these social media platforms. She's like lurking on social media. Within two hours, she deposited over 48, $800 into this fan's PayPal account, which you can see she posted about it here, was like, this is so amazing. And then in an interview, this fan said, when I posted, I was just venting. It's hard to pay off tuition. It's really expensive. One of my friends online was like, you should drop your PayPal so we can help you out. And I was like, that's not a bad idea. I should totally do that. And then I did. And the next thing I know, I literally have no problems anymore because of Taylor. Just quietly and randomly sending her that money. And she didn't even ask for it in the first place. Now, on top of that, in 2020, she also donated just over $30,000 to one of her fans in the UK. She had received a conditional offer to study math at some big university, but she could not afford it. So Taylor then saw this story. She left money. She left a comment on this girl's gofundme saying hey Victoria, I came across your story online. I'm so inspired by your drive and dedication to turning your dreams into a reality. I want to gift you the rest of your goal amount. Good luck with everything you do. Love Taylor. Again, she was not asked to do this. The girl was not dming her saying hey please look at your GoFundMe. Taylor just stumbled across the story. Now we can keep going here. Like she quietly donated another $30,000 for a fan whose mom was in a coma. 13,000 to two different moms who needed to cover room rent. $10,000 to a family whose two year old daughter was fighting cancer. And then Ruby Rose.

[Abby Herbert]

Ugh.

[Brett]

I know we just talked about her. She's awful. But she used to be a friend of Taylor Swift. She actually posted recently about this and she said lol. She Taylor used to scroll gofundme like a social media app, clicking reach their donation. Meaning like fund the entire thing. If somebody had a 400k fundraiser, they had only gotten 2000 fund the entire thing. She was donating $300,000. Whatever it was, she used to click reach their donation like the like button button. I mean it's crazy. Like on the ERAS tour, which is like the biggest tour ever done by musicians, she donated money to food banks at every stop. She gave her team $197 million in bonuses on top of their salaries like every step of the way. She and her team decided to do this on their own volition. She was not asked, she was not tagged. She went out of her way to find these stories scrolling on GoFundMe to support these fans. And I do think it's kind of gross to tout these things around, but Taylor Swift's way of doing this has literally inspired the way that I personally try to give back. Like I I love stumbling upon a great GoFundMe on X. I love reading the stories. I'm such an empath. It'll be me at like 2am crying and being like yes, I'm going to donate. I love supporting the organizations in our local community that I know are making an impact. But like if you DM me, if you are not following me, you DM me with not so much as a hello then I'm sorry my James Charles might come out because it's just a bit ridiculous. Anyway, that's just an aside. Maybe I should not give Taylor Swift all of the credit because she's not the only one who has done this sort of thing. Back in 2017, Nicki Minaj, obviously, who Everybody on the right is loving right now. She was interacting with her fans, her barbs on Twitter. Somebody made a joke about needing help with their tuition. And then she was like, bet, okay, I'll help you. Let's start a contest. If you get straight A's, I will help you with your tuition. You can see here. She said, show me straight A's, and that I can verify with your school and I'll pay it. Who wants to join that contest? Dead serious. Should I set it up? And she literally gave out thousands and thousands of dollars. The thread is like millions of comments long. Everybody was posting their transcripts. She was going through and being like, dm me your bank info. I'm sending this. By the end of the night, she was like, oh, my gosh, okay, I need to stop. I need to make sure I still have money left. And then I'll do it next month as well. And then a year later, she actually went on Ellen. She collaborated with Walmart. She surprised even more of her fans, and Ellen flew out. She literally paid off all of their student loans. Another example, Alex Earle created a University of Miami. That's where she attended school. She created a scholarship there. Paige Lorenz, who's the founder of Dairyboy, her tennis pro fiance, they just started a kid sports foundation. Like, there are so many incredible stories here. Some of them are louder and more publicized, like with the creation of a scholarship or a foundation, and some are just quiet gifts to fans. And I'm sure there are so many other ones like this that are behind the scenes. And none of these people have to do that. They don't have to. They're not required to. But with the tens of millions, hundreds of millions, billions of dollars if you're Taylor Swift, it's wonderful that they choose to do that. And I wonder if because of this, maybe we should just blame Taylor Swift. Maybe it's just Taylor Swift effect, but I wonder if people have just gotten used to that. You know, they see the generosity, the big grand gestures on GoFundMe and other things. They see extreme wealth on display, which, honestly is harder to ignore thanks to social media. It's just in people's faces all the time. And in an economy such as this, it makes sense that they're gonna be like, well, I want some of that. Plus, I would say that our culture just in general, unfortunately, not to be harsh, but it has become, you know, more victim focused. It has become grabby, I would say. And so I guess now people are just comfortable going out of their way to DM random people that they don't even follow, saying, hey, give me money. Not even saying hi, just sending the gofundme link. Please buy me something. Please, please send me money. And I hate to equate it to this. I feel bad doing so, but it almost feels like the homeless man on the side of the road who goes, like, I wanted a burger, not chicken tenders. When you try to hand him a meal because you see that he might be hungry. Like, geez, okay, like, I guess I won't try to. It's just. It gives me that same sort of feeling. And again, the fact that I'm even making this video is crazy to me because I am no James Charles defender. The episodes that I have done on him in the past are scathing. And yes, I agree, it was loud mouth. It was probably in very poor taste. It would have been for the best if he had just allowed that to be his subconscious rather than putting it online. And so we can at least thank him for bringing up this conversation, an interesting conversation in that, and then just move on. Because again, I can't believe that people are seriously shocked that James Charles is not the quiet generosity type. Like, I mean, come on, people, get a grip. Maybe people were swayed by his recent uncanceled era that he's had for the last year and a half, but he, he is still James Charles. He is still the center of the bi sister controversy. He is still the James Charles that was dming underage straight boys. He is still the James Charles that makes videos every day, screaming at people, screaming at his own fans. So come on, save your shock and your outrage for something that is actually unexpected. And please stop DMing people asking for money.