James Charles hit back at claims he is transphobic after he joked about being drafted in the military.
The YouTube star, 20, tweeted about having to serve in the military after the hashtag #WorldWar3 trended on social media following the death of Iranian military general Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. airstrike on Friday, January 3.
“When the government comes knocking on my door for the draft,” Charles captioned four photos of himself in wigs, makeup and dresses on Friday.
He was subsequently slammed by some followers who criticized him for joking about dressing up as a woman, especially since President Donald Trump has banned transsexual people from serving in the U.S. military.
“Posing as a minority that gets killed daily for a meme. Wow,” wrote one commenter.
“Trans women get killed for purely existing and ur out here being all 
I am going to dress as a woman to avoid being drafted even though I am a cis white gay 
cut the s–t james,” another wrote.
“Just to clarify, this tweet has nothing to do with the trans military ban, which I obviously do not support,” the first male Covergirl spokesperson replied as he sought to clarify his post. “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, & i don’t wanna fight in a war. that’s all.”
Charles was previously involved in drama last May after he got into an online feud with fellow beauty influencer Tati Westbrook.
He and his former mentor had a very public falling out after the 37-year-old posted a 43-minute video on YouTube in which she called out Charles for double-crossing her with a hair vitamin endorsement and accused him of sexually harassing straight men.
Charles, who lost nearly three million YouTube subscribers amid the battle, posted an apology and denied Westbrook’s harassment allegations and the pair agreed to put their differences behind them.
He subsequently canceled his Sisters tour, admitting, “I’m still not doing well,” after the scandal.
