James Charles denies claims of 'grooming' 16-year-old fan

By
Web Desk
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YouTube star James Charles has clarified that claims of him "allegedly" grooming a minor on Snapchat were "completely false".

On Friday, the beauty guru issued a statement on Twitter as a response to circulating videos on social media of a 16-year-old accusing James of sending him explicit photos adding that the 21-year-old asked the minor to share photos and videos of his "body".

While James admits to sharing photos with the teen, he explains that he was under the impression that the individual was 18.

"The accusation that I have groomed this person is completely false," h wrote. 

"Last week, I came across someone on my Instagram explore page, saw he followed me, and added him on Snapchat. The next morning, I woke up to several snaps from this person being excited I added him back, saying [they] loved me and [they] told me [they were] 18 so I started flirting back."

"In this excitement of meeting someone I thought could be potentially great, I didn't ask for a copy of [their] ID or passport." He continued, 

"It's now clear, based on the video [they] uploaded, [they were] taking photos of me with another device, and had an ulterior motive from the beginning."

The beauty star then shared that once minor’s real age came to light, he apologised and told the teen that he was "uncomfortable" with the entire situation.

However, James claimed that the minor was still persistent and "insisted on continuing talking, saying it could be our little secret, [they're] a fan of mine and would never tell anyone."

"I told [them] I wasn't okay with this, [they] started getting upset, and at this point, I unfriended [them]," James claimed. 

"We haven't spoken since."

James concluded his message, "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."