James Charles addressed allegations that he sexted minors in a new video: 'These conversations should have never happened'

• In a new YouTube video, James Charles addressed allegations that he had sexted with minors.
• "These conversations should have never happened," he said.
• Charles, 21, was accused in several viral social-media posts of sexting minors.

In a video on Thursday, the beauty guru James Charles addressed allegations on social media that he had flirted or sexted with minors. "I was being reckless," he said, acknowledging that at least some of the interactions were authentic. "These conversations should have never happened," he said.

Over the past month, boys who said they were under 18 have alleged in social-media posts that Charles, 21, solicited nude photos from them, sent them explicit photos, or sent sexually explicit messages.

In a tweet on February 26, Charles claimed that one of the accusers had an "ulterior motive" to publicly accuse him of "grooming." Charles said that he had received lewd photos of the boy but that the boy had claimed he was an adult. The boy told Insider that his social-media pages said he was 16, and he denied lying about his age.

In his YouTube video, Charles said that other accusers had lied to him about their ages and pretended to be adults. "I trusted the information that was given to me rather than the information I could have and should have gotten myself," Charles said, adding that older videos posted by some of the accusers would have indicated that they were under 18.

Charles' management team has previously not responded to Insider's requests for comment about allegations on Twitter and TikTok from minors who said they had interacted with the star. Charles didn't respond to a direct message on Twitter.

In Thursday's video, titled "holding myself accountable," he said: "As I did more research on these topics and self-reflected, I realized that the receipts and the screenshots and the specific details of the interaction really don't matter, because I f---ed up, and I needed to take accountability for my actions and most importantly apologize to the people that were affected by them."

The YouTuber said that he had used TikTok as a "dating app" and that he was committed to change. "I should've been more careful in every single way," he said, adding that he planned to ask for proper identification from the men he speaks to romantically or sexually.

Charles said that while he had first "wanted to get on camera and film another 'No More Lies' video" - referring to the famous 2019 video in which he attempted to discredit accusations that he had pressured straight men into sexual encounters - he decided to "take accountability."

Charles said that he now understands the inevitable power dynamic when he speaks with fans. "A power imbalance can happen even when it's not intentional," he said. "What I wasn't getting before is that the excitement that comes with talking to a celebrity is literally enough to make somebody do or say something that they normally wouldn't. Even if that celebrity isn't intentionally weaponizing their fame, money, or power. And that's the concept that I just wasn't getting, but I now do."

That admission was similar to a recent apology video from David Dobrik, the YouTube vlogger who's been widely criticized since Insider's Kat Tenbarge reported on a sexual-assault allegation against a former member of Dobrik's "Vlog Squad." Dobrik also described an inherent pressure on viewers and other YouTubers when they were featured in his videos, something he said he "didn't understand before."

Charles closed his video by saying that he would take a break from social media to "reflect and further educate myself on these topics."