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Here’s Who James Charles Is Apologizing to Today: Alicia Keys

Release the collab. Photo-Illustration: Vulture and Getty Images

There are three types of people in this internet world: the apologized to, the apologizers, and those who are so constantly doing both that they are sewn into the middle of this tedious Human Centipede of public shame. Makeup influencer James Charles has stitched himself snugly into this third category, having been on both ends of the YouTuber apology cycle this summer. Today Charles issued his latest apology, this time for subtweeting Alicia Keys. On August 5, e.l.f. Beauty announced that the Grammy-winning recording artist would be launching a “lifestyle beauty brand” of “skin-loving, dermatologist-developed, cruelty-free products” sometime in 2021. Charles then tweeted (and has since deleted) that “people who do not wear makeup should not be coming out with makeup brands but that’s just my opinion” and “people assumed I was shading my own friends or people I love which is not the case lol.” The next day, after having been called out on his “gatekeeping,” Charles issued an apology, in which he explained that he subtweeted keys because “a few years ago, she announced that she would no longer wear makeup, so I was bothered,” only to later learn that her beauty line will focus on skin care, not makeup. Charles continued, “Regardless of my intention with my tweet, it ended up being a microaggression against someone I respect, so to @aliciakeys I owe a direct apology - I’m sorry.” The centipede crawls another day.

Here’s Who James Charles Apologized to Today: Alicia Keys