- Insider surveyed 1,105 people to figure out how well 99 influencers are known and liked.
- The data reveals how the public views some of YouTube's biggest stars.
- James Charles was the least popular beauty influencer, with a net favorability rating of -50.5%.
Beauty guru James Charles has had a rocky couple of years, surrounded by allegations of inappropriate behavior and being a bad friend. After a massive rise, Charles has experienced a precipitous fall to become the least popular beauty guru, according to Insider data.
Charles, 22, is YouTube's biggest beauty creator
with 24.7 million subscribers. He burst into mainstream fame when he became the first male CoverGirl ambassador in 2016 after a recreation of his senior portrait where he was wearing makeup went viral. From there, he built a strong brand partnership with Morphe Cosmetics and released his own eyeshadow palette in collaboration with them in 2018.
But his favorability rating hit an all-time low in Insider's recent poll, which surveyed 1,105 people to see how well 99 influencers are known and liked.
Insider's data showed that of the 17.6% of respondents who said they knew Charles, 6.2% liked him, while 56.7% disliked him. This gives him a -50.5% net favorability rating overall — a significant drop from Charles' previous ratings taken from polls in January and April.
Charles' meteoric rise was halted when his former mentor Tati Westbrook accused him of behaving inappropriately around straight men in a video posted in May 2019. Fellow YouTube star Jeffree Star backed up her claims, and Charles lost three million subscribers as onlookers reveled in the spectacle of mass unfollowing.
Charles bounced back following a response video where he told his side of the story. According to Insider data, he had a favorability rating of -11.9% in January this year, putting him above Star (-24.5%) and Westbrook (-22.7%) in terms of popularity at the time.
But his controversies were not over. In February, a TikTok user named Isaiyah
claimed that while he was a minor, Charles sent him nude images of himself. Charles denied "grooming" in a video, saying Isaiyah did not disclose his age while they were speaking.
Several other boys who said they were under the age of 18 when talking with Charles
also came forward, saying he solicited nude photographs from them and sent them explicit photos or messages.
Charles posted a video on April 1 in which he apologized for not verifying the ages of people he was sexting with, saying
he was "desperate" for a love connection. Charles' favorability rating then dropped to -26% in the poll taken in April.
Although Charles has been able to shake off
most of the controversies he has faced over his career, his recent period of hot water may stick with him for good.
Morphe announced it would be parting ways with Charles on April 16, and YouTube
temporarily demonetized his videos shortly afterward.
Insider's poll also included results for fellow beauty YouTubers Manny MUA, Tati Westbrook, Laura Lee, and Jeffree Star — all of whom came out more popular than Charles. Despite Star being one of the most notorious creators on the internet due to feuds and allegations of
sexual misconduct, violence,
gaslighting, and manipulation, he received a -41% favorability rating, meaning Charles has overtaken him
as the most disliked beauty guru.
SurveyMonkey Audience polls from a national sample balanced by census data of age and gender. Respondents are incentivized to complete surveys through charitable contributions. Generally speaking, digital polling tends to skew toward people with access to the internet. SurveyMonkey Audience doesn't try to weight its sample based on race or income. Polling data collected 1,105 respondents between August 16-17, 2021 with a 3 percentage point margin of error.
