This is makeup artist and YouTuber James Charles. He was the first ever male face of CoverGirl cosmetics, and his YouTube channel has over 15 million subscribers, so you've probably heard of him.
James is no stranger to controversy. You may remember his very messy feud with the cast of It, or the time he said Ariana Grande was the "rudest celebrity" he's ever met.
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For what it's worth, he later explained the situation with Ariana was simply a "disappointing experience" and said he'd sent her a message to apologise for speaking about it publicly.
Well, buckle up, because we're here with some more drama! This time it stems from a video where James does his makeup using the products in alphabetical order.
Throughout the video, James also gives viewers a letter-by-letter breakdown of "Sister Speech" — basically, the words he and many of his followers use to speak to one another.
The ~Sister Speech dictionary~ includes phrases like "hi sisters", "love that", and "absolutely not".
The drama ensues when we get to the letter T, which, according to James, stands for "the house". He says the phrase is "by far one of [his] favourite things to say right now".
"I heard about it from another YouTuber named Rich Lux," James says in the video. "Basically any time something is very something else, you can say it is 'the house' ... 'The house' is the new best way to put emphasis on anything."
Well, Twitter users got hold of the clip, and it's safe to say they're not very impressed.
lgbt community i’m so sorry
Firstly, people said the phrase is actually "the house down", not just "the house", as James said.
@dcagiunta The house down: Another term used for an exclamation point at the end of a sentence to indicate how extra fabulous something is—e.g., “Kennedy is dancing the house down.” Another usage is the house-down boots. someone forgot to tell him that there’s another word after house lmao
JAMES ITS "THE HOUSE DOWN" NOT JUST THE HOUSE - I HAve TO LAUGH ... wjdjsd he really thought this was something .... https://t.co/AqXVTggCgU
did james charles forget to add down onto the end of the house
james charles telling everyone the house down.... is just... the house..... okay...,
But mostly people criticised James for not knowing the history of the phrase — which comes from drag culture — and instead attributing it to another YouTuber.
As a gay person, I am disgusted. The phrase is “the haus down boots” and was coined by the late, great Erica Andrews. You’re gay, and whether I like it or not, a fairly famous gay guy. As representation for the community, you’re responsible for knowing your shit. https://t.co/DDyEwNTzjI
@thecaracavalli when he said “new” my little gay heart broke a little. so many young gays barely know some great shit in our history. I know he’s not being malicious but like damn boi
Many said they resented the fact that people would probably start saying "the house" because of James, not knowing where the phrase originally came from.
If I hear a str8 white girl say “the house” and it’s cause of James Charles and not black trans women and drag culture....., im gonna go feral
not him taking another drag phrase for his straight girl followers to use constantly w out knowing where it came from https://t.co/WpSIBxF8qb
I swear to god if i see a single straight white girl say “the house” about literally anything im suing James Charles
And, of course, there were a lot of memes.
@dcagiunta
James Charles: T is for The House. That make up is good the house. RuPaul:
However, some people did defend James, saying it was an opportunity for "a teachable moment".
Instead of talking shit about James Charles for not knowing the origin of “the house”, maybe this is a teachable moment. Or maybe you just want something to feel superior about. Congratulations on your one viewing of Paris is Burning.
As for James, he has yet to acknowledge the situation explicitly — but he did tweet this on Monday night.
Wow I keep forgetting to tweet I’m cancelled
Ellie Bate is a celebrity reporter and talent coordinator at BuzzFeed UK and is based in London.
Contact Ellie Bate at eleanor.bate@buzzfeed.com.
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