YouTube star James Charles admits messaging underage boys

James Charles has finally addressed the recurring allegations that he sends sexual messages to minors.

In a 14-minute video titled "holding myself accountable," the YouTube star admitted that there had been two instances of this.

Last year and earlier this year, he added boys on Snapchat and asked about their age. When they said they were 18, James said he sent them "flirty" messages.

However, he later on found out that they were 16.

When screenshots of his messages to the minors recently went viral, he said his initial reaction to was to be upset and film a video where he'd display "receipts." But after some research and self-reflection, he arrived at a conclusion.

"I realize that the receipts and the screenshots and the specific details of the interactions really don't matter because I f-cked up," James said. "And I needed to take accountability for my actions and most importantly apologize to people that were affected by them."

"These conversations should have never happened," he added. "There's no excuse for it, there's no ands or buts, and I take full responsibility for that."

He said he should have taken measures to ensure that the people he was talking to were of age instead of trusting the information given to him.

After taking time to think about it, James said he'd been reckless because, "I'm desperate."

"The idea of actually being in a relationship became so important to me that I was willing to trust too quickly, miss out on red flags, and most importantly, not take the precautionary that really anybody, but especially somebody with a public platform, should be taking before talking to anybody," he said.

Amid accusations that he was a predator, James promised that he was "taking this seriously" and that he now understands the gravity of the situation.

"To the victims, I'm so, so sorry. And I promise that something like this will never ever happen again," he said.

With over 25.6 million subscribers, James Charles is one of most prominent beauty YouTubers today.

In 2016, he became the first male ambassador for cosmetics brand CoverGirl after his makeup skills went viral online. —JCB, GMA News