Over the weekend, a billboard briefly appeared in Los Angeles that had "SAY, JAMES, I HEAR YOU TEXT EM YOUNG" next to a photo of James Charles and a BBC headline that reads: "YouTube star admits messaging 16-year-old boys." The headline is in reference to the 2021 allegations that the beauty influencer solicited lewd photos from underage men and later admitted to doing so in a since-deleted apology video.
By Monday, the billboard had been taken down.
The billboard said it was "Paid for by Ted Entertainment Inc," a company owned by Ethan Klein, a podcaster and YouTuber, who confirmed he paid for it in a video he uploaded to Instagram on Saturday.
"Yes, it's true. I paid about $10,000 to put up a full-sized billboard on a busy street in Los Angeles to remind everybody of the predator that James Charles is," Klein said in the video. "With everybody talking about the Epstein files and thinking back on Harvey Weinstein, and people like him who've gotten away with it for so long... I'm looking at James Charles rebuild his career, collaborate with mainstream people, and it's all happening again."
He continued, "This is the only good idea I’ve had to try to do something. With somebody with resources and reach, I feel like it’s the least I can do to try to remind the people of Los Angeles and the world that this is what James Charles gets up to.” The video ends with him saying, "It’s time we start calling him out, so I hope you’ll enjoy it — except you, James."
In 2021, multiple young men claimed they had inappropriate contact with Charles, claiming the influencer solicited nude photos of them while they were underage and sent them sexually suggestive photos. In his since-deleted apology video titled "Holding myself accountable," Charles admitted his behavior was reckless and said he should have done more to confirm the boys' age before admitting, "These conversations should never have happened."
Neither Charles nor his team has made public statements regarding the billboard. Out has reached out to Charles' team for comment.
