I noticed that someone named James Charles was trending in the number-one slot on the Twitters today and so I took the bait and clicked on it, even though I had no idea who James Charles was. But the moment I saw his heavily painted face, I recognized him as Covergirl’s new cover model. Chasing trends, Covergirl chose a boy to model their makeup because transboys are the new “it girls” of 2017—and if you don’t agree you’re transphobic, you hating hater! But the reason Charles was trending wasn’t for his unusual career, overly contoured nose, or confusing caterpillar eyebrows, but because he had angered the SJW Twitter mobs by tweeting something insensitive about Africa.
I will no longer support your company as long as he's on the campaign. This was stereotypical & degrading to Africa. @COVERGIRL @COVERGIRL pic.twitter.com/RpgMp1lqfg
— HOLLYWOOD PARI$ (@xoParisWilliams) February 16, 2017
Anyone who is anyone knows you simply can NOT tell jokes anymore about anything, let alone Africa, unless you want to be run out of your job, your reputation, and your life in less than 24 hours. I thought we all learned this from Justine Sacco. But of course, Sacco was just a white girl with all that white privilege and no one felt sorry for her. James Charles, on the other hand, probably felt very safe posting provocative things on Twitter because he’s a member of the protected class, and the newly favored one of the moment, at that! The transpeople can do anything right now…or so they thought.
It’s fun to watch the snake eat itself. Personally, I don’t see any reason to be upset at Charles for his tweets. After all, he’s mocking a continent and not someone’s four-year-old. The only concerning thing about his tweets is the sad realization that he somehow made it through our schooling system thinking Africa is a country. Poor Charles can’t get a break from Twitter though, and because he made a tame joke about ebola he is now a “racist.” (And I don’t even think he voted for Trump! Welcome to the Deplorables, James. It’s super fun over here.)
JAMES CHARLES IS RACIST. Admit it ur fave is problematic
— bizzy (@bizzy_txt) February 17, 2017
Even his groveling apology didn’t help him. He’s toast.
— James Charles (@jamescharles) February 16, 2017
Sorry, James, but your whiteness outranks your gayness and your trans status. Being white is now a mark against you that no amount of makeup can cover. The SJW lynch mobs are coming for you and nothing can save you now. They’ll have your career on a platter and your reputation in the toilet as if you were a Hitler-saluting neo-Nazi. (And they’ll probably call you one before the night is over, too. Wait for it.)
james charles was boring af anyway. anything white male is nothing if not completely conventional. give me patrick starr @COVERGIRL
— 🇵🇭🇵🇷4🔺 manananggal 🔮✨ (@mykalita_) February 17, 2017
James Charles' tweet does not represent COVERGIRL’s perspective.
— COVERGIRL (@COVERGIRL) February 16, 2017
Then why is his partnership w/ COVERGIRL still intact? Seems like you're cosigning him by default. Don't normalize hate speech.
— a working BITCHIE (@ImThatBitchie) February 16, 2017
Dear God! They’ve accused him of “hate speech”! This is spiraling quickly. I can’t say it doesn’t warm my deplorable heart just a little to watch the unhinged attacking one of their own. Nothing is going to win more people to our side than this kind of behavior. Here is a kid who isn’t particularly smart, but has made a life for himself out of something he’s passionate about and there is an entire set of people poised and ready to yank it all away over a 140-character joke. And they do it with such glee. It’s truly sickening to watch. This is not how civilized people should behave.
People have been run out of jobs for legitimately doing something vile online like Katie Rich, the SNL writer who said Barron Trump would be the country’s first homeschooled shooter. And consequences do come with free speech. But James Charles is being piled on for no good reason. No one is harmed by ebola jokes. A year ago we were all telling them because there was a huge outbreak that even made it to the U.S. Twitter mobs that overreact like this are one of the reasons Trump won. Everyone is sick to death of being scared to tell an ebola joke for fear of losing all and ending up homeless and shunned, pushing a grocery cart with all your belongings in the social wasteland of Google+.
Now is the time to reach out to people like Charles and invite them over to our side, where we can still take a joke and have no desire to forcibly silence people with unpopular ideas. Come on over, James, you’re welcome here.
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