James Charles Responded To Claims He Copied Merch Designs From Teddy Fresh
A week can’t seem to pass without some amount of BeauTuber drama happening, and this week is no different. On Sept. 17, beauty guru James Charles responded to claims he copied merch from Teddy Fresh. Ethan Klein, known for the YouTube channel and podcast H3H3 he runs with his wife Hila, took to Twitter with claims that Charles’ latest merch looked incredibly similar to that of his and Hila's brand, Teddy Fresh.
“I know we didn't invent colorblocking but I'm having a hard time w the new james charles merch, it's the same exact design as Hila's. Combined with the fact that his audience is so huge, many people will assume he designed it and start accusing us of plagarism [sic]," Ethan tweeted on Sept. 17. "It's possible it's all a totally cosmic coincidence, but he used pretty much the identical colors here, too. He at least moved them around a little bit." Ethan also posted two of the Teddy Fresh styles in a series of photos, along with the merch Charles as teased in the last few days. The first hoodie he highlighted is color-blocked with yellow, light blue, seafoam green, and pink; the other incorporates purple, pink, light blue, and white.
"When you DM’d me yesterday, I sent you the original photo that inspired my collection, explained I’ve never seen your brand but also asked what you wanted me to do...You didn’t reply," Charles responded via a tweet. “After last year, I vowed to keep conversations private and create solutions, not drama.” The 21-year-old also followed up saying that his DMs are open if Ethan was interested in working toward a solution. Elite Daily reached out to both Charles and Teddy Fresh for additional comment on the claims and exchange but did not hear back by the time of publication.
The twitter back-and-forth continued for a bit longer, with Klein adding, "I give you permission to share our convo. You told me you were going to sell them anyway. You also admitted that the similarity wasn't a coincidence. I dm'd you because I wanted to keep this private, but I found your response combative and dismissive." Charles has yet to publicly respond to this tweet.
The exchange quickly went viral, and many people on Twitter have added their two cents. “If I’m being honest, y’all know how many merch designs I’ve seen with the same colors,” one user wrote. Another person said, “Can we just be grown adults and solve this in private … You have an issue, you go to the person and tell them; you don’t blast it on social media.”
As of this writing, Charles still plans on dropping his new merch on Sept. 24.
