James Charles has apologised to fans after meet and greets for his tour were priced at $500 ($387).
The YouTuber and make-up guru is going on the road across America this summer with his Sisters Tour, which promises ‘an evening full of beauty, music and personal conversation with James. This highly immersive and interactive show will make the audience feel like part of the production – with on-stage beauty tutorials, live music, games, an interactive Q&A session, surprise giveaways, exclusive merchandise and much more.’
However, when tickets went on sale for up to $500, some fans were furious, as they pointed out not many young fans could afford to pay that much to meet their idol.
One person tweeted: ‘OMG, your “tour” ticket prices are absurd. You’rer charging like you’re a mega star like lady gaga or beyonce. You do makeup on YouTube. You seem to be getting greedier every day.’
And another commented: ‘James Charles has the audacity to charge $250-$500 for vip tickets. Which you know his 10-15 year old fans can’t afford on their own. Kinda gross imo. Sister extortion.’
And YouTuber JaackMaate joined in on the fury, tweeting: ‘Another YouTuber being a greedy c***. Shock. YouTubers charging for meet & greets in any capacity is not only ridiculously greedy, but somewhat narcissistic. Charging your own fans to come & get a hug and a selfie is f***ing mental. Tell me I need to “have a day off” all you want, but $500 to say hello is f***ing rank.’
‘Guys, I want to THANK all my viewers for giving me this immense platform, so I’m going to say THANK YOU individually to all of you. If you want me to come and say thanks, please PayPal me $500 and I’ll add you to the list. This is FOR YOU, you’re so very welcome. Lucky c***s.’
James hit out at the criticism, writing in now-deleted tweets: ‘The venues hold several thousand people, because a tour has been in high demand. Trust me, I wish I could see everyone, but it is physically impossible to meet thousands of people daily, which is why there HAS to be different ticket packages.
‘I promise you that I’m trying to lower them to be as affordable as possible. I personally am doing this tour for fun and to say thank you, but please remember that there is a huge team and company working hard on this tour that have to be paid and have to make a profit as a business.’
However, following the backlash, James has added more bonuses to the VIP packages after claiming that contractual obligations left him unable to change the prices.
The 19-year-old tweeted: ‘UPDATED TICKET INFORMATION ? Hopefully this answers a lot of questions, comments, and concerns. I am sorry that we disappointed many of you. We have worked very hard to put this tour together and want it to be accessible for everyone & an amazing experience no matter the ticket.
‘To clarify, i begged my team to change prices but because of contracts with the venues, it was not possible. instead, i made sure meet & greet was more accessible and ensured that the highest ticket was worth the price. i’m sorry i can’t make everyone happy, i’m trying my best.’
One fan responded: ‘lol it’s still 500$’, to which the vlogger replied: ‘For the most expensive ticket package that comes with many perks that no one is forcing you to buy.’
James also replied to a fan writing ‘kinda let down by all this tbf’, writing: ‘Me too, trust me.’
So what do you get for each ticket to the Sisters Tour?
General admission for $52.50 (£40) gives you a seated ticket, while 20 random tickets will be upgraded to meet and greet.
A VIP ticket, which gives you a meet and greet and a photo, ‘preferred venue seating behind VIP tiers, preferred access to merchandise after higher VIP tiers’ and an autographed tour poster, is $99 (£76).
A VIP Plus package for $250 (£190) gives you a meet and greet and a photo, a goodie bag worth $100 (£77), a ‘chance’ to be brought on stage for interactive segments, preferred seating and preferred merch access, and a tour poster.
While the Sister VIP package including the above plus a pre-show private catered hangout Q&A with James, a goodie bag worth $250, a chance to get their eye make-up doen by James and front row seating is $500.
James has over 16 million subscribers on YouTube, and has a make-up palette with Morphe cosmetics.
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