James Charles' YouTube demonetised after sending flirty messages to under 18s

James Charles has had his YouTube channel demonetised, meaning the influencer will be unable to make money from the streaming platform.

The 21-year-old beauty vlogger - who boasts 25 million followers - had his account temporarily removed from YouTube's Partnership Program, it has been confirmed.

It comes after Charles admitted at the start of April that he had 'engaged in a flirty conversation' with two 16-year-old boys in the belief that they were 18.

The YouTuber explained that he had added the boys on social media and was told that they were 18. When Charles found out that they were not 18, he blocked them.

A YouTube spokesperson has confirmed to The Mirror that the company has applied its creator responsibility policy to his account.

The policy states: "If we see that a creator's on- and/or off-platform behavior harms our users, community, employees or ecosystem, we may take action to protect the community."

YouTube did not specify how long James Charles' platform would be demonetised for.

A representative for YouTube and James Charles has been approached by The Mirror for comment.

The YouTube announcement came days after cosmetics company Morphe announced that they were ending their business relationship with the influencer.

"In light of the recent allegations against James Charles, Morphe and James have agreed to end our business relationship and wind down sales od the Morphe x James Charles product offering."

"It is and always has been Morphe's goal to create a positive, safe, and empowering spare where all beauty lovers can freely share their artistry and passion for cosmetics, and Morphe is committed to furthering that goal."

At the start of April, Charles denied that he was "grooming" a 16-year-old boy after accusations from the alleged victim appeared on social media.

The YouTube sensation admitted to two incidents during which he learned the person he was speaking to was underage.

A video he filmed, which was titled "holding myself accountable", addressed the allegations.

At the time, James apologised to the boys he had spoken to and vowed to do better in the future.

James said at the time: "I now understand the root of the problem and I, and only I have caused myself to get into this situation.

"I understand that there is a could have and should have that could have easily been avoided and that I need to be aware of my platform at all times."

The YouTube star concluded: "I didn't understand how a situation like this could have happened to people involved but now I do. Now, to the victims, I am so, so sorry and I promise that this will never happen again."