YouTube Star James Charles Defends Himself for 'Mugshot' Makeup Challenge

[Content warning: This story contains graphic images that might be upsetting to some readers.]

YouTube star and makeup artist James Charles, who is no stranger to controversy, is defending himself after coming under fire for participating in the so-called "mugshot" makeup challenge, a new Internet fad where people style themselves to show what they're police mugshots would be like. It carries the hashtag #mugshotchallenge.

Page Six is reporting Charles first shared his look on both Instagram and Twitter before deleting the pictures due to a backlash. The photos showed the 20-year-old Internet star shirtless with a black eye and bloody nose that were created by makeup.

A number of people took issue with Charles' photos and after removing them from his socials, he initially offered a response in a now-deleted tweet, pointing out that artists like The Weeknd and Billie Ellish have used imagery of bloody noses and bruises in their recent work.

Charles then shared another tweet defending himself:

"Despite the fact that hundreds of other influencers and artists have done something similar, I deleted the mugshot trend because it was never my intention to trigger anyone & it's a waste of time trying to have an open discussion with people who hate me regardless," he tweeted.

In the replies, he also clarified that his tweet "is not an apology lol." Responding to another tweet, where a Twitter user said it is not just Charles but "the trend itself that's triggering for so many," the makeup star wrote: "I do understand that but this dumb trend has nothing to do with domestic abuse. what about action movies? halloween? special effects? simple bloody noses? this is nothing new."

Though he deleted the mugshot looks from Twitter, they remain on his Instagram.