US

James Charles accused of making ‘transphobic’ joke about trans military ban, then blocking a trans woman who called him out

James Charles

James Charles defended his comment, but it didn’t do much to help. (James Charles/ Twitter)

James Charles has been accused of making a “transphobic” joke about the trans military ban in the US, and a trans woman has claimed he then blocked her for calling him out.

Amid panic over rumours of an impending World War III after a US drone strike killed a top Iranian general, many on social media believed that a military draft would be imminent.

Although the rumour has now been debunked by the US government, Charles wrote on Twitter “me when the government comes knocking on my door for the draft”, alongside four photos of him dressed as a woman.

Embroiling himself in yet another controversy, many interpreted his post as joking that he would pretend to be a trans woman to avoid being drafted into the military, as trans people are banned from serving.

Donald Trump announced that he would ban transgender people from serving in the military in 2017, and the ban took effect in April 2019 jeopardising the livelihood of thousands.

One Twitter user wrote: “Posing as a minority that gets killed daily for a meme. Wow.”

Another said: “This is disgustingly transphobic but honestly not unexpected from the notable transphobic and kinda racist James Charles.

“Not to mention there is not a draft, there wont be a draft, and making light of the transgender ban in and of itself (although i object to serving) sucks.”

Charles attempted to defend the original post by writing on Twitter the next day: “Just to clarify, this tweet has nothing to do with the trans military ban, which I obviously do not support.

“It’s a lighthearted joke regarding the fact that I had to register for the draft when I turned 18, just like every other boy, and I don’t wanna fight in a war. That’s all.”

But, his defence did not do much to improve the situation. One person responded: “I’m gonna say you didn’t realize the transphobia in this.

“But a cis male saying he’d pose as a woman to avoid something, even as a joke, creates a narrative that trans people might only be trans to gain some sort of benefit. Like how the GOP says men will claim trans identity.”

To make matters even worse, one trans woman who called out Charles and voiced her discomfort with the post claims she was blocked by him.

She posted a screenshot which shows Charles’ account and a message saying she had been blocked.

She then later added: “If James did nothing wrong why did he block a trans woman voicing her discomfort with his actions?”

Others agreed that it implied Charles was in the wrong, and one person responded: “James Charles out there making transphobic jokes and then blocking trans women for telling him that his joke was transphobic. I hate this world.”

We may be only five days into the new decade, but this is already Charles’ second scandal in that time.

On January 2, the make-up guru uploaded a video of him singing along to Saweetie’s ‘My Type’, which includes several uses of the N-word, and was accused of using the racist slur. 

 

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