Thousands of Spirit Airlines workers lost their careers overnight. An apparently-popular influencer named James Charles apparently thought that was the perfect moment to mock one of them for asking for help.
James Charles Mocks Laid-Off Spirit Airlines Worker, Then Apologizes After Backlash
There are plenty of fair criticisms to make about Spirit Airlines and many self-inflicted wounds that led to its demise. But mocking a laid-off Spirit Airlines worker who had just lost her job and was asking for help? That is not edgy nor is it not funny. It is just cruel.
Influencer James Charles (I’ve never heard of him, but apparently he’s another successful Gen Z influencer with millions of followers) is now apologizing after posting a now-deleted TikTok video in which he ridiculed a former Spirit Airlines employee who sent him a GoFundMe link after losing her job when Spirit shutdown. He deleted the video, but nothing is ever fully deleted on the internet and if you want to listen to what he said, cruel as it is, see below:
The woman messaged Charles explaining that she was struggling after Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy and she lost her job. Instead of ignoring the message, donating privately, or responding like a normal human being, Charles turned it into content.
He read her message aloud mockingly, then launched into a rant about why she did not deserve help.
“You think that I’m gonna send you money because you lost your job?!”
He also called her a “lazy piece of sh*t.”
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black…
Spirit’s collapse left thousands of airline employees suddenly out of work. Flight attendants, gate agents, ramp workers, mechanics, crew schedulers, dispatchers, airport staff, and customer service agents did not make the decisions that drove Spirit into bankruptcy. They did not block the JetBlue merger or invade Iran or fail to adapt the business model in response to increased competition. They just showed up to work, even if they should have seen the writing on the wall.
Then, overnight, the airlines stopped flying and many of them were suddenly left to figure out how to they would make ends meet.
Charles apparently saw that and decided the proper response was public humiliation…what kind of a horrible human being does that? Did he really think that would go over well?
James Charles Turned A Plea For Help Into A Shameful Performance
The most obnoxious part of this episode is not that Charles declined to donate. No one is required to give money to a stranger online. GoFundMe links are everywhere, and public figures probably receive endless requests for cash.
Fine. Delete the message and move on.
But that is not what happened. Instead, he took the message, read it to his audience, mocked the woman’s situation, and framed her request as entitlement. He argued that losing a job is part of life and suggested she should simply go get another one…you know, pull yourself up by your bootstraps (an aside, this coming from spoiled kid with a surgery-enhanced body who has never had to work a day in his life).
It is not like a Spirit flight attendant can wake up the next morning and instantly slot into the same schedule, pay, benefits, and base at another airline, especially in an industry driven by seniority. Yes, other carriers may hire some of these workers and many will land on their feet, but pretending that a sudden airline shutdown is just a “minor inconvenience” is detached from reality…
The Apology Came After The Backlash
After the video blew up for all the wrong reasons, Charles deleted it and posted an apology. He admitted the video was inappropriate and said he should not have shamed someone who may have been desperate.
“It was obnoxious, and I shamed her for asking for help…”
That is true. It was obnoxious. It was also unnecessary.
The internet does not need another lecture from a wealthy influencer about how working people should respond after losing their jobs. Charles also apologized specifically to the former Spirit employee, saying he was “super sorry.”
Good. He should be. Here it is:
@jamescharleslol responding to the deleted spirit airlines video ❤️
And may I rather dourly say that as the gap between haves and have-nots continues to grow in this country, the rich better keep their eyes over their shoulders because if a revolution comes, the guillotines will be used for people like Charles first. May that day never happen…
CONCLUSION
James Charles did not cause Spirit Airlines to fail. But his response to one former Spirit worker’s plea for help was a nasty little window into how easily real people become punchlines after corporate collapses. Spirit workers have already had a brutal week. They lost jobs, schedules, benefits, travel privileges, and in many cases a career path they had built over years. They did not need a millionaire influencer turning their desperation into content.
Charles apologized. Fine. But the original instinct says more than the apology. If your instinct is to publicly mock a laid-off airline worker after her company just collapsed, maybe the problem is not her entitlement.
No, it is you, James.
image: @jamescharles / TikTok
What a damned weirdo. Hopefully karma/the universe will deal him an appropriate hand.
Yeah, bad juju… he should not be punching-down like that.
Why in the world would anyone follow him? I couldnt even watch more than 30 seconds of him
Same here and I wonder how they become a millionaire…. Certainly not a great message to those who actually wanna work hard and apply for jobs….
Same as me and especially when i saw the nails. Spoiled brat
I think the POS is the Mr Charles. He may be a celebrity influencer, but what do these “influencers” really do to add to our economy or build a better society? Maybe he should try working for a living, I suspect the unemployed flight attendant worked harder in one week than he has in his life.
Dude looks like a lady
May the TicToc clock run down.
Typical click baiting DBag. Stop using the term “influencer” regarding these attention (garden tool). Nobody with a brain is being influenced by these clowns
Unfortunately, millions of people are…it’s shocking, but I don’t think we can ignore it and I’m an old millennial (not sure about you), but that’s the way the kids communicate these days.
We may not like it but many or most of today’s younger generations follow and respect these clowns like we followed sports, rock or movie stars. And they are influenced by them in ways we might not understand but it’s working for them. The money involved is insane and when you talk about the rich, many are becoming very rich without doing any work in ways we consider work.
In some ways I actually respect them for being creative enough to tap into these people following them that are looking for something I don’t understand.
But in the words of a maître d at Chez Quis in Chicago “I weep for the future”.
Putting aside that the guy/gal should be banned from social media (like that will ever happen) for being over the top obnoxious – I too had to shut it off after 30 seconds – he had a point. Since when do we start begging anyone and everyone for money when we lose a job? There are social safety nets in this country – not just unemployment insurance. But the point is I guess that rather than applying for jobs and taking advantage of the support lines available it’s just easier to ask for money. Maybe that’s how the current generation thinks. I’m even older that Matthew, so the idea of begging for money via social media is just antithetical to me. Yes is horrid Spirit Airlines employees lost their jobs. But people in every profession are losing jobs every day.
Maybe it’s the picture you used, but damn does he have a very punchable looking face.
I used that picture because he was on plane, but I could have used more inflammatory pictures! (if you check his Instagram)
He’s also been accused of sending and receiving nude photos from underage boys, but like all wealthy people, received no punishment or consequences for it.
The accusations against him were 100% credible, and in Australia he would have been subject to serious federal criminal charges.
I have said it before and I will say it again. In my opinion “infuencer” will be the death of civil society as we knew it.
I’d be very surprised if this little brat actually went out and earned a million dollars in the workplace. He’s either a trust fund kid or has a sugar daddy.
I dont know who that kid is, but what is wrong with his face? He has some sort of genetic disorder, with a partially deviated septum, partial prominauris, and a herpes sore scar. Very odd someone that sick and ugly would do close-ups. Very unsettling to watch ugly people in general let alone while spewing inane rantings.
It’s quite evident this author is infected with hate, from the past of aggressive tone to the insinuations with his final statements in the article. It would take a hateful person to think that somebody would have people coming after their head for disparaging remark unless you yourself have those feelings because that’s not a normal thing.
And by the way bro, why don’t you proofread your article before you post it. You got some f*cking errors, I’m not an English expert nor do I claim to be but then again I’m not posting articles online like I am one, try learning what a double negative is.
Where is the employee’s go fund me so we can donate to her?
I don’t believe he shared it. If so, I have not been able to find it.
Like we need even more reasons to despise influencers…
What does this turd “influence” people to do? I’ll bet the number one thing is to use foul language. He calls her a “Piece of S**t. It sure does take one to know one.
Someone should tell Maleficent/Ravenna/Bellatrix/Lilith/Cruella how lucky she is to be able to sit at home and paint her face, do her nails and make money while spewing idiotic statements about life, when she has only been alive for 20 minutes and has the life experience of a fruit fly, how lucky she is not to have to do a 9:00 to 5:00 grind like the average person.
WHAT an *SSHOLE, I AM SURE HE LIKES LITTLE BOYS
Wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t some staged BS to get the ‘backlash’ (views and engagement). Seems like the type that would do it.
You are even more cynical than I am!
Lady KARMA needs to move this self entitled/self important young man an unexpected visit and give Him a cold hard life lesson that he’s never going to forget. I remember two things my Father told me on my Graduation Day … #1. Remember everyone’s name that works for you, from Janitor to those directly reporting to you. Stop, Take three minutes out to address them by name and ask how their family is doing or how their day is going. It may be nothing to you but to them it is a big deal that you are kind and polite. #2. Be very careful how you treat People as you climb up the ladder because if you miss a rung and as you slide down that ladder, they will be waiting for you with pointed toe shoes and it will be painful for you.
What do you expect from a homosexual. They are demons.
He mocks a laid off girl, meanwhile he has more plastic in him than a whole line of barbies. Also, when was being shiny fashionable?
He mocks her, says that she expected a celebrity to fund her life, when the only reason he has money is because we funded his. And, no, I’m not (and never have been) a fan of his in any way, but seriously. The ONLY reason he has money is his fan base. But, no ma’am, I will not help you. You need to figure it out yourself
Like president like influencer.
What is with his eyebrows and nails???Confusing