Thread by @InternetInsider

YouTuber @jamescharles is facing another threat to his beauty empire.

Former producer and creative director, Kelly Rocklein, spoke to Insider about her lawsuit against him that alleges wrongful termination, disability discrimination, and more.👇
businessinsider.com/james-charles-…

Rocklein worked for James Charles for about six months in 2018.

In that time, he maintained an output of 8 videos a month and grew from 2.8M subscribers to over 8.5M. businessinsider.com/james-charles-…

During Rocklein’s tenure working for James Charles, she said she was given a raise of $6,000 a month — roughly a $72,000 salary, which Charles confirms in his May 10 video.

However, she claims she was never paid for the total number of hours she worked. businessinsider.com/james-charles-…

In addition to her working more than 80 hours a week without overtime pay, according to Rocklein and her complaint, she told Insider that Charles seemed “incredibly unprofessional.” businessinsider.com/james-charles-…

Less than a week before Rocklein was fired, she told Insider Charles surprised her with a Louis Vuitton necklace.

This was the same necklace he gifted to his manager, his brother, and his best friends. businessinsider.com/james-charles-…

A few days later on September 4, 2018, Rocklein went to the ER after fainting at a nail salon she went to with Charles.

The complaint says her “hospitalization caused her to miss time at work and caused delays in her meeting video production goals.” businessinsider.com/james-charles-…

On September 19, 2018, Rocklein said Charles called her over for a personal meeting.

According to the complaint, Charles “callously informed her that she was being terminated due to poor performance.” businessinsider.com/james-charles-…

Initially, rather than settle, Charles' legal team moved to uphold the arbitration clause in Rocklein's employment contract, according to court documents reviewed by Insider.

But the arbitration clause now may be void thanks to a California law.
businessinsider.com/james-charles-…

Now, Rocklein has moved to litigation, which was granted.

Charles' attorneys have appealed the decision and are waiting on a response from the court. businessinsider.com/james-charles-…

In his May 10 video, Charles also said he feels like Rocklein is blackmailing him, and "going after him" for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Instead, her attorney denied this, claiming that Charles' legal team attempted to "buy her silence." businessinsider.com/james-charles-…

Charles declined to address specific claims made by Rocklein to Insider prior to publication because of the ongoing status of their litigation.

However, in his May 10 video, he addressed claims that Insider sent him about using the "N-word" slur. businessinsider.com/james-charles-…

At first, Rocklein said she didn't want to litigate in a public legal proceeding because she feared backlash online.

But the empathetic response to her in videos on the case made her feel that a larger message needs to be broadcast about the industry. bit.ly/2QaMHAT

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