James Charles has been named in one substantive lawsuit and has publicly announced one of his own. In 2020, a former employee sued him and his company for wrongful termination and wage violations; that case ended after an appeal was dismissed in early 2022. In May 2025, Charles said he was beginning the process of suing a content creator for defamation. No criminal charges have ever been filed against him. The known James Charles lawsuits are summarized below.
The 2020 Wrongful Termination Lawsuit
In March 2020, Kelly Rocklein, a former employee of Charles and his company Sister Sister LLC, filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court. She alleged wrongful termination, disability discrimination, failure to provide reasonable accommodation, and failure to pay minimum wage for overtime hours.1Trellis.law. Kelly Rocklein vs Sister Sister LLC, Case No. 20STCV08582 The case was assigned to Judge Mark V. Mooney, with Edwin Pairavi as Rocklein’s attorney.
Rocklein said she worked more than 80 hours a week without overtime pay on a salary that began at $5,000 per month and later rose to $6,000. She alleged Charles required her to perform personal tasks well outside normal duties, including managing his daily hygiene routine.2Yahoo News. James Charles Ex-Employee on Why She Filed Lawsuit She further alleged that Charles walked around naked in front of her, called her a “bitch,” and used a racial slur in her presence on multiple occasions during video production.3Business Insider. James Charles Sued by Ex-Employee Kelly Rocklein According to the complaint, she was fired in September 2018 for “poor performance” after a medical emergency caused her to miss work.
Charles denied the allegations in a May 2021 video, calling them “ridiculous, absurd, untrue, [and] defamatory.”4NBC News. James Charles Breaks Silence to Accuse Former Employee Suing Him He accused Rocklein of “blackmail” and said the lawsuit’s timing was meant to exploit an unrelated social media controversy. Rocklein’s attorney denied those claims, and Charles never filed his own suit over the alleged blackmail.5AOL. James Charles Accuses Former Employee of Blackmail
How the Case Ended
Charles’s legal team moved to compel private arbitration. The court denied that motion because his side failed to pay the required arbitration fees within California’s 30-day deadline.3Business Insider. James Charles Sued by Ex-Employee Kelly Rocklein Charles appealed. A request for dismissal was filed on December 9, 2021, and an appellate order dismissing the appeal followed on January 7, 2022.1Trellis.law. Kelly Rocklein vs Sister Sister LLC, Case No. 20STCV08582 The docket does not specify whether a settlement or another resolution produced the dismissal, and the terms have not been reported publicly.
The 2025 Defamation Suit Charles Announced
In spring 2025, Charles was drawn into a controversy surrounding Kayla Malec, a TikTok and YouTube creator who had accused her ex-boyfriend Evan Johnson of physical abuse. Johnson was charged with domestic assault in Sumner County, Tennessee on April 7, 2025, and later pleaded guilty.6The Tennessean. Evan Johnson Jailed for Domestic Abuse Against Influencer Kayla Malec
On April 29, 2025, Zach Sellers, a former friend of Johnson, appeared in a YouTube interview titled “Investigating James Charles” on the Bee Better channel run by Markos Bitsakakis.7USA Today. Kayla Malec, Evan Johnson, James Charles, and Domestic Violence Sellers alleged that Charles and Johnson had a sexual relationship and that Charles had coached Johnson through the fallout from Malec’s allegations, claiming he had seen evidence on Johnson’s phone.8Just Jared. Influencer Kayla Malec Wins Domestic Abuse Case Against Ex Evan Johnson
On May 7, 2025, Charles posted a TikTok response. He described his connection with Johnson as a “brief friendship” in which he was manipulated, denied any romantic or sexual relationship, condemned Johnson’s conduct, and said he had stayed quiet during the court proceedings to avoid affecting the outcome.9Out Magazine. James Charles Addresses Kayla Malec and Evan Johnson Controversy Charles called Sellers’s claims “defamatory and slanderous lies,” challenged Sellers to post the alleged evidence, and announced he was beginning the process of suing Sellers for defamation.
Charles said the legal action could extend to others who had spread the claims for engagement and financial gain, though he did not publicly name Bitsakakis as a target.10Gay Express. How Beauty Influencer James Charles Got Pulled Into a TikTok Abuse Scandal As of mid-2025, it was not clear from public reporting whether the defamation suit had been formally filed.
Disputes That Did Not Become Lawsuits
Two other high-profile episodes are often grouped with Charles’s legal history but never produced litigation.
The Teddy Fresh Design Dispute
In September 2020, Ethan and Hila Klein of the clothing brand Teddy Fresh publicly accused Charles of copying the design and color palette of their color-blocked hoodies for his Sisters Apparel line. Ethan Klein said Charles’s hoodie used the “same exact design” and “identical colors” as a pre-existing Teddy Fresh product.11Business Insider. James Charles Accused of Stealing Merch Designs by Ethan Klein Charles initially denied familiarity with the designs and cited Nike as his inspiration, but Klein released screenshots of a private conversation in which Charles acknowledged the similarity was “not a coincidence.”12Newsweek. James Charles Being Accused of Stealing Merch Ideas From Another YouTuber Klein said publicly he had “no desire to take legal action,” and none followed.
The 2021 Sexting Admissions
In February 2021, a teenager publicly accused Charles of grooming. On April 1, 2021, Charles posted a video titled “Holding myself accountable,” admitting he had sent sexually explicit messages to two 16-year-old boys and acknowledging he had become aware of their ages during the exchanges.13BBC. James Charles Admits Messaging Two Minors YouTube demonetized his channel in response.14The Guardian. YouTube Demonetises James Charles Over Allegations of Sexting Underage Minors
Despite the admissions, no criminal charges and no civil lawsuits were filed. Business Insider reported in April 2021 that it could not independently verify whether any law enforcement investigation was active, and legal commentators observed that a formal investigation was unlikely without an accuser filing a report with local authorities.15Business Insider. James Charles Legal Status Regarding Alleged Sexting of Minors Charles himself mentioned the possibility of suing people who had spread what he called misinformation, but no such suit became public.