James Charles is owning up to his mistakes.
On Thursday, April 1, the YouTube star released a new video that addressed his recent online scandals. Titled "Holding Myself Accountable," the 14-minute long clip featured the 21-year-old makeup artist apologizing for recent behavior on Snapchat.
"First and foremost, I need to say sorry," he began. "I owe a massive apology to anybody I have hurt or anybody I made uncomfortable with my actions. I want to make it really, really clear that I fully understand my actions and how they are wrong. There are no excuses for them and I don't plan on making any."
James continued, "Within the past couple of weeks, two different people, both under the age of 18, have recently come forward saying that they had inappropriate messages from me on social media. One of them being from last year and one of them being more recent."
According to the social media star, the interactions occurred on Snapchat where the victims allegedly told James they were 18. He believed them and "engaged in flirty conversation." After discovering both individuals were 16, James said he immediate blocked them. One of the teens told Insider that he did not lie about his age.
While James considered posting evidence to back up his claims, he ultimately decided to take a different approach in what he called an unscripted video.
"I realized the receipts and screenshots and specific details of the interaction really don't matter because I f--ked up," he shared. "I need to take accountability for my actions and most importantly apologize to the people who were hurt by them."
James added, "As an adult, it is my job and my responsibility to verify who I'm talking to and therefore there is nobody to blame for this other than myself. I'm sorry that I added you. I'm sorry that I flirted with you and I'm really sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It is completely unacceptable."
Back in February 2021, James denied claims that he "groomed" a minor on Snapchat. At the same time, the YouTuber admitted to exchanging photos with the teen under the impression that the individual was 18.
After learning the fan was only 16, James vowed to do better writing in a statement, "Because of situations like this, instead of taking someone's word for it, I now will ask to see the ID or passport of every [person] I have a conversation with."
In his latest video, James admitted that he didn't keep his promise to be more careful. Moving forward, James said things will be different as he takes a break from posting new content.
"The only way to actually show and prove I'm sorry is through action and change and I'm going to change," he declared. "This whole situation has been embarrassing and I'm ashamed but like I said, I'm now educated and fully understand what went on."
James continued, "My for you and explore pages are not dating apps and I will stop treating them as if they are. To the victims, I am so, so sorry and I promise that something like this will never, ever happen again."