James Charles Was At The AMAs & Fans Were… Confused

If you’ve been following the TikTok drama between influencers Kayla Malec and James Charles, then you might know a thing or two about Charles’s month-long social media hiatus (and his mass unfollowing). After what many fans thought might be an end to the makeup artist’s career, Charles made his first public appearance since the Kayla Malec and Evan Johnson drama at the American Music Awards on May 26, and fans were… confused, to say the least. 

Charles became entwined in viral TikTok drama with Malec after she pressed charges against her ex, Evan Johnson, for domestic assault (to which he plead guilty to on May 7). Becoming a major topic of online discourse and media coverage, it came out that Charles reportedly housed and supported Johnson after his breakup with Malec (so you can see why fans might have been disappointed). Charles made a statement after the case was decided in court, saying in part, “I do not support Evan Johnson in any way, shape, or form … I don’t support him, I don’t support violence against women, and I sure as hell do not support the disgusting, deplorable, violent, heinous acts that he committed against Kayla Malec behind closed doors.”

After Charles’s response video and weeks without posting, Charles posed on the AMAs red carpet and appeared multiple times in the crowd throughout the show, including when SZA accepted her award for Favorite R&B Song and again during Becky G and Manuel Turizo’s performance. With countless TV appearances in the midst of fresh controversy, many were left wondering why Charles decided to attend the award show.

The AMAs is an annual award show celebrating and honoring some of the past year’s best music and its artists. The AMAs have seen big wins for artists such as Billie Eilish, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift. But after a two-year hiatus in 2023 and 2024, and fans now calling the show a “flop,” there was widespread speculation of the award show inviting influencers (such as Charles and Alix Earle) to combat a number of celebrity no-shows. (Because I know it wasn’t just me who noticed Swift wasn’t there.)

Many were shocked to see how quickly Charles decided to bounce back to fame despite the ongoing drama and Malec’s response to Charle’s involvement in the breakup. (Malec posted a three-part-series on May 15 highlighting exactly what had happened between her and Charles, enforcing their brief friendship but exposing details about Charles and Johnson’s relationship that were apparently left out of Charles’s response video. Her Campus reached out to Charles’s team for comment on Malec’s videos but didn’t hear back.)

Charles began posting on TikTok again with a video on his birthday, May 23. As you can imagine, his comment section was pretty heated, though Charles responded to haters with some fiery comebacks. One comment read, “They could never make me like you🤍,” to which he responded, “Oh nooooo whatever will I do💔😭🙏.” Another comment read, “I’m in enemy territory…” to which he responded, “Then leave babe🤍.”

Before the AMAs, Charles posted a GRWM for the award show on TikTok, hard-launching his attendance and firing up fans before the show even began. While the video didn’t provide much of an explanation as to why he would be attending, he did explain how happy and excited he was to see his friend, Alex Warren, perform at the show. One comment under this video read, “Who invited you?” to which he responded, “The American music awards. How’s your couch?”

While it still feels like we’re in the thick of the drama, Charles’s appearance at the AMAs seems like he’s chosen to forget about it all — even though his fans haven’t.

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