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Fans Aren’t Happy About That Rosa and James Charles Collaboration

Gianluca Russo
·3 min read

Charli D'Amelio may dominate TikTok as its most popular creator, but a handful of other users have also begun to raise the ranks of the social app. Among them is Rosa, an incredibly hilarious character created by Adam Martinez, otherwise known as Adam Ray Okay.

Adam's videos, which depict Rosa as a teen girl with a heavy contour, messed up false lashes, and long nails, often go viral instantly due to their sheer hilariousness; however, his fans are not too thrilled with his latest collaboration.

On March 24, James Charles dropped a YouTube video in which he's doing Adam's makeup and chatting with the creator about his personality beyond his beloved Rosa character.

No drama was discussed in the video, but shortly after its release, Rosa fans were quick to share their frustrations online about the collaboration. James, after all, has had his fair share of controversies in the recent past, and not all Rosa fans were okay with seeing the two social media celebrities together.

"Well, the Rosa videos were funny while they lasted but selling your soul for a racist & a couple of YouTube views is more important," tweeted one fan. "RIHANNA ACKNOWLEDGED YOU, INVITED YOU TO THE FENTY HOUSE FOR YOU TO PICK....JAMES CHARLES??"

After seeing some of the backlash online, Adam chose to address it on Twitter. "I take SO MUCH pride in who I am and where I come from," the creator wrote on March 24. "I’m so f*cking happy I can represent my community all around the world to millions of people. If you don’t see the greatness in what I’ve been doing... idk what to tell u. Remain positive or leave."

Responses to Adam's tweet were mixed: Some fans understood his reasoning and were able to move past the situation, but others were not. "You aren’t doing the community any favors by teaming up with an unapologetically racist and predatory influencer," replied one user. "Coming from a city that is statistically ~80% racial minority you should want to avoid associating yourself with someone who has a reputation like James Charles."

Another user wrote, "You are so so so great AND you’ve built a platform that comes with a reality that you influence media. This means your decision of who you collaborate with carries impact. We love you, but James has f*cked up so many times. Don’t endorse his shitty behavior and build him up."

At the end of the day (and as much as the community loves drama), every social media star must take the time to evaluate each opportunity before they say yes. That includes Adam and James. While this collaboration did cause some backlash, many others online shared their love for Adam and the video. Having a mixed response is not unusual, especially in the world of YouTube, but it's clear from his tweet that Adam thought long on the decision to collaborate with James.

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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue