Thousands gather at Pacific Fair to meet Youtube star James Charles

HE’S an online sensation known for his outrageous makeup, wild personality and quirky catchphrases, but this morning James Charles almost brought Pacific Fair to a standstill.

Online sensation James Charles has drawn a crowd of thousands to Pacific Fair this morning. Picture: Mike Batterham

SCREAMING, sobbing, and the sounds of running feet — it’s the sort of thing you’d expect to hear in a horror movie, but this morning at Pacific Fair it was anything but.

Thousands of excited kids and teens lined up to meet Youtuber and beauty guru James Charles as he made his first and only free Australian appearance.

Some had been waiting almost 24 hours to meet the star, who said he couldn’t believe the turnout from his Gold Coast fanbase.

Just some of James Charles’ four million strong online following turned out for the chance to meet him at Pacific Fair. Picture: Mike Batterham

“I’ve been keeping up with all of them on Twitter, it’s so cute,” he said, adding he didn’t get the chance to see the line up before arriving.

“I don’t get to really do a lot of fan experiences, only because I’m working so incredibly hard on all my different content.

“I’m still working obviously but I get to really see fans and interact, so I just want to give everybody a hug and thank the people that have been with me since day one.”

Among those first in line was ten-year-old River Teixeira from Mermaid Beach, who had been waiting with her mother for over three hours.

River Teixeira, 10, meets her hero James Charles during his appearance at Pacific Fair this morning. Picture: Mike Batterham

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According to mum Tonia, she spends three or four hours a night watching the Youtube sensation’s makeup tutorials and challenge videos.

“She said to me, ‘I would have come across last night’, because she’s so obsessed with it, she watches it every single day,” she said.

“I think it’s amazing, good on him, I think he’s great, he’s a good role model, that’s why I don’t mind.”

Youtube star James Charles stopped to take selfies during his free meet and greet at Pacific Fair. Picture Mike Batterham

This is only the first stop on a whirlwind tour for Charles, who will fly out tonight to Melbourne and then on to Sydney next week.