James Charles Apologizes for Mocking Laid-Off Spirit Worker

Beauty influencer James Charles issued a public apology on Saturday after facing widespread online backlash for a deleted TikTok video in which he mocked a laid-off Spirit Airlines employee seeking financial help via a GoFundMe link.

The controversy began last weekend following Spirit Airlines' abrupt cessation of operations, which left approximately 17,000 employees jobless after the budget carrier filed for bankruptcy. The unidentified woman sent Charles a direct message stating, "Good morning, James. I know you'll probably never see this, but if you could just take one minute to read it would really mean a lot to me. I'm really struggling right now because Spirit Airlines just filed for bankruptcy and I have lost my job. Here's a GoFundMe link. Any donations help."

In the now-deleted video posted to his account, the 26-year-old Charles read the message aloud while laughing and responded harshly. "I'm sure they do, sweetheart. I'm sure they do. You know what else would help you? Getting another job. Yeah, try that," he said. He accused her of sending the same generic message to numerous influencers and celebrities instead of applying for jobs, calling her a "lazy piece of s"...