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Tati Westbrook breaks silence after James Charles feud

YouTuber Tati Westbrook has broken her silence after her very public feud with James Charles. Photo: YouTube
YouTuber Tati Westbrook has broken her silence after her very public feud with James Charles. Photo: YouTube

An emotional Tati Westbrook has broken her silence after her feud with fellow YouTuber James Charles, engulfed the internet and saw him lose three million followers.

Her shock return to the spotlight came in a teary-eyed 18-minute video entitled 'Why I Did it ...' in reference to her previous scathing upload which exposed James’ indiscretions in their friendship.

Widespread backlash followed, and many of 19-year-old James’ teenage followers turned on him as his alleged inappropriate behaviour came to the surface.

"I do really want the hate to stop, I want the picking sides and the abusive memes and the language - all of that,” she began the new upload.

“I really hope on both sides it can stop, that's not why I made the video.”

Tati - who gained five million subscribers since the feud was sparked - went on to explain she ‘doesn’t hate James Charles’ despite publicly calling out his behaviour.

James Charles and Tati were close friends for three years before their very public falling out last week. Photo: YouTube
James Charles and Tati were close friends for three years before their very public falling out last week. Photo: YouTube

"I was trying to reach someone who was unreachable and I had been trying to deliver the same message so many times because it wasn't just about one thing," she said.

"There is no celebration in what's happening. If I could give all of the success back and the new subscribers back, I would. That's not why I did this."

The 37-year-old went on to explain how she’s been affected by the fallout with her former friend and mentee, who maintained his silence while being escorted through Brisbane Airport on Wednesday.

“I am hurting,” Tati said, adding: “But so is James and so is our community and a huge audience and I guess I just pray that we can all just be kind with each other through this.”

Just one week before the feud came to the surface, James was at the top of his game and attended the MET Gala. Photo: Getty Images
Just one week before the feud came to the surface, James was at the top of his game and attended the MET Gala. Photo: Getty Images

The beauty guru also revealed she would be taking an extended break from the platform, but has pre-recorded videos which will soon be uploaded.

"I'm going to take a time-out and I'm going to come back and I'm going to continue to play with makeup because it makes me the happiest,” she said.

“I am going to hold myself to an even higher standard because this is forcing me to really look at what really matters, and is working so much really worth it?”

However, fans were quick to back Tati’s comeback attempt, praising her for continuing to promote kindness even in the midst of such widespread drama.

“Tati Westbrook is such a pure human being and I love her so much,” wrote one user.

“I gots so much r-e-s-p-e-c-t for Tati Westbrook,” said another.

“Hats off to you calling out a situation that hurt you and bravo for taking the high road.”

The controversy initially began when Tati released an explosive video where she accused James of ‘trick(ing) straight men into thinking they're gay'.

Widespread backlash followed news of the alleged indiscretions raised by Tati, and saw many of James’ teenage followers turn on him in the form of YouTube unfollows.

He broke the record for most fans to unsubscribe in a single day - a mammoth 1.26 million - with his total loss now surpassing more than three million.

However, the scandal is not his first career misstep having previously conjured up controversy for making light of the Ebola epidemic and allegedly editing the post that first made him famous.

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