Make-up artist and YouTuber James Charles has denied singing the "N-word" in a video shared on his Instagram Story.
The internet personality recently posted a video of himself at a New Year’s Eve party singing along to “My Type”, a song by rapper Saweetie.
Several social media users alleged that they could hear Charles saying the “N-word" more than once in the clip, resulting in the hashtag “#JamesCharlesIsOverParty” trending on Twitter.
However, when asked by a Twitter user whether he said the word, the beauty vlogger staunchly denied the claim.
“No? Turn up the volume and listen, I skip over it,” the 20-year-old said.
“How stupid would I have to be to confidently record a video of me singing the N-word and still have it up the next morning?”
But social media users have still been divided whether Charles said the word or not.
“He didn’t say the N-word, you can tell he skipped over the word but his mouth was open when the word played, making it seem like he said it,” one person stated.
“Difficult to tell at the beginning of the clip as it does sound like you began to sing along with the song. However, I can see and hear that you do try skip saying it the second time,” another remarked.
“Best just to take the video down,” they added.
Last year, Charles found himself embroiled in a feud with fellow beauty vlogger Tati Westbrook.
In May 2019, Westbrook shared a video on YouTube in which she highlighted Charles “problematic” behaviour, including promoting a beauty product that rivalled one she had created.
“You are using your fame, power and money to play with people’s emotions,” Westbrook said.
The 37-year-old later tweeted that she had been in communication with Charles “through an intermediary”, adding that she was continuing her “conversations with everyone in private”.
The Independent has contacted James Charles for comment.
