Members of the Sister Squad, an unofficial influencer group consisting of James Charles,
Ethan and Grayson Dolan, and Emma Chamberlain, are arguably the hottest young stars on YouTube.
But their close friendship isn't without its fair share of drama.
Here's the tea on the Sister Squad.
"Hi sisters!"
The Sister Squad would not exist without beauty guru James Charles, who boasts over 16 million
YouTube subscribers.
and counting.
In 2017, Charles was asked to collaborate with the Dolan Twins for a Halloween video,
and the threesome immediately bonded.
A year later, Charles told Heard Well,
"We hit it off really really quick once they realized I was not crazy…
Like they don't drink they don't party, they don't smoke, and neither do I, like we both
are just very very business focused."
Soon after, Charles reached out to rising YouTube star, Emma Chamberlain.
Charles DM'd her, offering advice after the vlogger mentioned him in several of her videos.
At 17, Chamberlain moved to L.A. in 2018, and met Charles in person.
The two quickly became friends, Charles introduced the Dolan twins to Chamberlain, and the Sister
Squad was born.
As of mid 2019, you probably haven't caught the underage Sister Squad out partying it
up in Hollywood.
"I seem like I'm on drugs, but I'm not.
Shockingly."
Instead, these YouTubers remain a positive influence for their massive following by keeping
things on the up and up.
In 2015, Grayson Dolan tweeted,
His twin brother, Ethan, shares the same values on substance abuse by also abstaining.
In the Dolans' 2018 lie detector Q&A video, Ethan's true party history was revealed.
"Have you ever gotten drunk?
I have not.
True.
Ha ha.
Told you I'm a pure child, mom."
Like the Dolans, Chamberlain told Forbes that she doesn't smoke or do drugs.
And neither does Charles, according to a 2017 video.
"You guys know sister James does not drink or do drugs, I am a good boy."
When Chamberlain moved to L.A. in 2018, Charles and the Dolan twins made her feel welcome,
offering Chamberlain sage advice on living in the City of Angels, and, of course, giving
her a Los Angeles makeover.
"I don't think that location has anything to do with the type of person you are and
your character…I think, if anything, Emma is gonna change for the better."
After the group firmly established you should just be yourself, and not worry about fitting
in, Chamberlain added,
"When I said I was moving to L.A., everyone was like, Emma, they were concerned.
Please don't be concerned b----.
This is a lot of work and you know I'm not gonna do this ever again."
In February 2019, Chamberlain shook her fellow sisters when she unfollowed just about everyone
on Instagram, including Charles and the Dolan twins.
As J-14 reported, the YouTube star was only following 17 fan accounts as part of a social
media cleanse, a move she made to see how her life would be sans Instagram.
Fans cried out that the Sister Squad was no more, and they worried there was an actual
falling-out within the group.
"What's up guys, it's me I'm with my f----ing sister squad."
"Is that how you start your videos?"
"Yeah what's wrong with it?"
Chamberlain responded to the fan outcry on Instagram Stories, where, according to the
outlet, she explained,
Chamberlain appears to have since re-followed everyone in the Sister Squad.
Sister Squad fans have been shipping Emma and Ethan ever since the pair first began
appearing in each other's videos.
Dubbed "Ethma" by their fans, speculation of a romantic relationship between them caught
fire when Ethan blocked a fanboy on Twitter after he flirted with Chamberlain, according
to J-14.
A fan pointed out in a 2018 tweet that Polaroids in Chamberlain's home appear to feature her
and Ethan embracing.
"So this can only mean one thing.
They're dating."
Regarding their alleged romance, Chamberlain denies the rumors, telling Access in 2018,
"Literally I show up in a room with a male, and I'm now shipped with them.
Like, it doesn't matter.
It's not even just the Dolans, it's like every guy I'm friends with."
Fans of the Sister Squad have reportedly long speculated that James and Grayson have been
dating.
While Charles is openly gay, Grayson is much more private about his status.
But despite the lack of confirmation, fans continue to hope the twosome will end up together.
Speculation soared after the Dolans' 2018 lie detector video.
"This is from James Charles.
He said will you marry me."
"No."
"He's having a problem with that one."
Ethan jumped in to squash the tension, adding,
"Okay, we don't need to f---ing make that rumor get any bigger.
Should we just say Grayson and James are obviously not f---ing dating?"
"I mean it's pretty apparent."
Charles has also tweeted about frustration with fans, on the topic, writing:
On January 19th, 2019, the Dolan twins' father, Sean Dolan, tragically passed away after a
battle with cancer.
After the Dolans expressed their sorrow through touching tributes on Instagram, they received
an abundance of support from fans and from other popular YouTubers, including Charles
and Chamberlain.
According to J-14, Charles jumped on Twitter to share,
"I love you both."
And he took to his own Twitter to post,
"F--- cancer."
Chamberlain expressed her love for both twins on Instagram, writing,
Before Chamberlain blew up on YouTube and became best friends with the Dolan twins,
the young influencer talked about how the brothers had been two of her favorite vloggers
since way back, telling Tana Mongeau in 2018,
"I was a Dolan stan...It's not that I grew out of it, I just realized that they're too
hot for me, and, at that point, it became unattainable."
When asked who her favorite Dolan twin was, she admitted:
"I think Ethan."
In a May 2018 mukbang video with the Sister Squad, Chamberlain told the Dolan twins about
the first time she ever watched them on YouTube when she was 15, remembering,
"Yeah, I watched one of their videos and it was like, 'Oh, this is so fun and so fresh.'"
Life in the public eye can pose a dark side, especially when overzealous fans take their
adoration too far.
And all members of the Squad have experienced a total invasion of privacy.
"We have the best meet and greets always 'cause you guys are just like normal humans and you
get it and I love you all so much."
While he openly adores his loyal fan-base, in 2018, Charles expressed frustration over
some fans making him feel unsafe in his own home, tweeting:
Chamberlain also insinuated on Instagram Live that someone had showed up at her home.
Then, in January 2019, the Dolan twins had to plead with their fans not to show up at
their father's funeral after the hashtag "Sean Dolan funeral party" began trending on Twitter,
according to NBC News.
Ethan tweeted,
"You guys are pretty crazy."
"No.
You guys are savages."
Earning mega success through YouTube has afforded Charles and Chamberlain the ability to launch
a beauty line and a clothing line, respectively.
But that doesn't mean everything's been all rainbows and sunshine.
"I absolutely love it and think it is just so chic."
In 2018, Charles released a signature eyeshadow palette with Morphe, but the excitement was
short-lived.
Soon after the palette was released, a fan apparently claimed in a since-deleted tweet
that the eyeshadows were staining their skin.
Charles fired back tweeting,
Likewise, Chamberlain faced her own problems when she launched a line of merch.
Within 24 hours, her T-shirts had sold out, and in 2018, according to Allure, her signature
scrunchie sold out in 29 minutes.
While it was clear that fans couldn't get enough of her stuff, some were a little outraged
by the price tags.
Chamberlain then defended the prices on Instagram Live, claiming she wasn't the one who set
the price points.
"I didn't come up with the prices for my clothing line.
Yes it's technically mine I guess, but not really.
Because all I did was design the clothes."
The YouTuber industry may be relatively new to the entertainment scene, but it wasted
no time in establishing itself as a bona fide content-creation machine, and awarding itself
trophies for its own successes.
The Streamy Awards and the Shorty Awards are the two most recognized awards ceremonies
for those who create popular, profitable content for social media and YouTube, and each member
of the Sister Squad has taken home the gold.
"We won choice YouTuber.
Thank you guys so much."
"We love you guys so much."
In 2017, Charles was awarded "Breakout YouTuber of the Year" at the 9th annual Shorty Awards,
and the Dolan twins won a Streamy award the same year as "Creator of the Year."
Chamberlain then went on to win "Breakout Creator" at the 2018 Streamy Awards, and took
home the trophy with a seconds-long, and very nervous, acceptance speech, saying,
In 2017, the Dolan twins posted a video called "It's Time to Be Honest", sporting bandaged
hands and revealing Ethan had punched a window after getting angry during a shoot.
When Grayson tried to help him out, Ethan took off running, causing Grayson to fall
and break his finger.
"I know I'm gonna be judged for making this video.
It's not often that people say everything on their minds.
I just feel like I owe it to you guys and I owe it to myself to be honest."
The brothers emphasized that being so vulnerable with their fans was difficult, but that they
needed to take some time to focus on themselves and feel better both mentally and physically.
"We need to stop spreading fake happiness."
"Yeah."
"If we're not happy, then we're not spreading genuine happiness."
Chamberlain has also faced challenges regarding her mental health, revealing in a 2017 video
that she left high school during her sophomore year due to mental illness.
"Towards the end of the year, I became severely depressed.
I couldn't go to school.
I couldn't hang out with my friends, I completely cut off all my friends."
Charles told Teen Vogue in 2018 that, while he loves his job, the internet's negativity
can take a toll on his mindset.
He confessed,
In early 2019, rumors began swirling that the Sister Squad was officially squashed for
good when fans of the famous foursome realized that the "sisters" hadn't been seen together
in months.
As fans know, the Dolan twins lost their beloved father in early 2019, and the brothers likely
need to take time to grieve before re-entering the spotlight.
For her part, Chamberlain announced in April 2019 that she would be launching her very
own podcast later in the month, called Stupid Genius.
And of course, Charles is always keeping busy with his ultra-popular makeup channel, as
well his collaboration with Morphe Cosmetics.
But hectic schedules filled with personal projects don't mean things are over for good,
so don't give up on those Sister Squad goals!
It might just be that this bunch is keeping their friendship off of the 'Tube these days.
"Yeah I don't think we can escape it."
"Yeah."
"It's haunting me every day."
"You're welcome."
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