James Charles deletes "racist" video of Rosa TikTok impersonation following backlash

26 February 2020, 15:49 | Updated: 3 November 2020, 11:13

Jazmin Duribe

By Jazmin Duribe

"I hope you know making fun of a Latinx accent like this is racist. Tired of his white ass profiting and making fun of POC."

James Charles is being accused of being "racist" after mimicking the accent of TikTok creator @adamrayokay's character Rosa, who is Latinx.

Earlier this year, Rosa's TikTok videos went viral. Known for her wonky eyelashes, heavy contour and distinct accent, Rosa's POV clips usually show her talking to friends at school, flirting and asking to borrow money.

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In a Snapchat video, which has now been deleted, James can be seen driving while he recreates a viral video of Rosa discovering her schoolmate is gay. The original TikTok, which has 1.6 million views, is titled "POV: Rosa finds out her 8th period partner is gay".

James Charles receives backlash for "racist" impersonation of TikTok character Rosa
James Charles receives backlash for "racist" impersonation of TikTok character Rosa. Picture: Presley Ann/Getty Images for Patrick Starrr, @adamrayokay via TikTok

While many can see the hilarity in Rosa's videos, she's obviously playing on a stereotype. And there's a difference between somebody from the Latinx community making jokes about stereotypes within their culture and someone doing it who isn't Latinx.

So, when James – who has previously apologised for using racist language – decided to copy this, people were offended.

However, others came to James' defence.

James didn't address the backlash directly, but he did seemingly urge people to be kinder on social media.

He tweeted: "I get that a lot of people don’t like me. I’ve learned to accept & understand it – but the extent that some people on this app are willing to go in attempt to ruin my life is truly sad. I hope one day people find a way to feel validation without having to bash others for likes."

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