James Charles is experiencing a bit of déja vu after witnessing the backlash against TikTok star Charli D'Amelio's latest YouTube video.
The beauty vlogger took to Twitter on Thursday, Nov. 19 to defend his friend from criticism over their recent collaboration in a YouTube video that also featured the 16-year-old's older sister, Dixie D'Amelio, and their parents.
But first some background: In the new video series titled "Dinner With the D'Amelios," James joined the family in their Los Angeles, Calif. home and enjoyed a three course meal while discussing their sudden rise to fame and goals for the future. But as the video racked up millions of views, some corners of the internet found issue with Charli and Dixie's treatment of the personal chef. As it stands, Charli has lost upwards of one million followers on TikTok.
James expressed dismay over the negativity surrounding Charli's behavior. He wrote on Twitter, "this charli situation is NOT sitting right with me... 100M followers in one year & y'all expect her to know how to be a perfect role model? death threats because she's a picky eater & made a joke about a milestone?"
He then referenced his own past controversies, adding, "30+ year olds dragging someone half their age? feels familiar."
YouTuber Trisha Paytas was particularly critical of the teens. The controversial internet personality made numerous TikTok videos expressing her opinion on the matter, which even prompted a tearful response from Charli.
In a TikTok shared on Wednesday, Nov. 18, Trisha told her followers, "[Their behavior] was unbecoming and I don't think it's something to become embarrassed about, because they are young girls, but to be catty and bratty in the comments when people are kind of like hey this isn't cool behavior—it's just trying to help them learn and ultimately not get cancelled because this kind of attitude, it won't get you far."
Trisha also reacted to Dixie's apology video and shared some "constructive criticism" on how to avoid drama in the future. At one point, Trisha questioned why her team would cook a meal that Dixie might not like, asking, "Are they setting her up for sabotage? ...Get a new team girl."
Charli went live on Instagram this Thursday to discuss her feelings on the subject and called out Trisha, saying, "Some people are getting involved just to get involved. And I'm just going to say it. Trisha Paytas, this is not—sorry, you have been completely rude to me multiple times, saying, 'she doesn't have a personality, she can't dance and she is basic.' Like, you have your own problems. Please, stop worrying about mine."
Charli continued, "And that's all I have to say on that. Just please stop talking about me. You're not a very nice person. Sorry."
The dancer failed to hold back tears as she claimed she's received death threats in the aftermath of the controversy.
"Seeing how people reacted to this, I don't even know if I want to do this anymore," Charli cried. "This is messed up stuff that people are saying. Like people telling me to hang myself. People just blatantly disrespecting the fact that I'm still a human being is not okay at all.
Regarding the video itself, Charli admitted, "We should have done better on our part with the editing to make you guys know that it was a joke and that's on me... I take full responsibility for that."
As for Dixie, she discussed the video with her TikTok followers and promised that their personal chef was not hurt by her or Charli's conduct. She said, "I love Chef and I would never disrespect him in any way... And maybe don't judge someone's personality over a 15-second video."