S/O's terrible friends ***long***

I'm posting this in CC because all the regulars here know me a bit better than people in other rooms, also I think is this pretty controversial.

Let me start this by saying I know that I cannot choose my S/O's friends, I am just looking for outsiders opinions.

I often tell people that my partner, James, his biggest flaw is that he can't see any faults in anyone. He thinks everyone is 100% genuine.

When we started dating in 2014, he accidentally left his friends a bit behind and started to hang out with me and our mutual friends a bit more. In 2016, he realised he left his other friends A, J, M, E & others behind, and dedicated our final year of high school to being their friend.

Unfortunately, they're petty as fuck and made him work for their friendship which was the first red flag to me. E is actually his cousin, and invited the whole group to his party and not James. He even invited James' sister.

Throughout the year, they'd constantly make plans and not invite him. The only time he ever got to hang out with them is if HE planned it.

His 18th birthday was at the beginning of this year, and they got him blackout drunk and decided it'd be funny to throw him in the pool. This made me really dislike his friends. They were all drunk, so if he had drowned, no one would have been able to help. Thank fuck he was ok.

He's one of the oldest in the group, so everyone started to invite him everywhere just because he could supply alcohol, and then as they all started turning 18, they all started going out all the time. I was 18 before lots of his friends and he never considered taking me.

A month ago, we made an agreement that we'd stop getting drunk at parties, because he doesn't like to deal with me when I'm drunk. He went camping over the weekend with E, M & A, and told them of the agreement. I had a party for a close friend Saturday night, and only took one or two drinks with me. I held up my end of the deal, and he again got blackout drunk because they egged him on.

A few weeks ago, M went clubbing, got stupidly drunk, went to a girls hotel room, slept with her, and then proceeded to tell everyone what an "ugly, fat slut" she is, but James still doesn't see why M makes me uncomfortable. I feel scared around him. James gets really mad at me when I mention that M makes me uncomfortable, yet he hates my friend, I, and I never yelled or got angry about it.

As he's been hanging out with them more and more, I've started to notice their stupid behaviour rubbing off on him. He used to be my biggest fan, he's the one I'd turn to for emotional support. My mental health has actually worsened so much in the past few months, and I have to be worked up to the point where I'm screaming to even get his attention, and even then, he calls me childish and there's a 50/50 chance he will help me. He yells at me a lot now, and he knows one of my biggest triggers is being yelled at by someone I love. I can't even say something he doesn't understand because he gets mad and yells without even asking me to explain. He never used to act this way, this all started when they actually wanted them to be his friend.

To make matters worse, this weekend they made a pact that if someone didn't like another's girlfriend, said person has a month to break up with said girlfriend, or they will interfere. So I can't confront him anymore, and I feel extremely trapped.

Their friend J, moved to Melbourne in February to be with his girlfriend who moved over there a month before. He didn't want to give up his place at uni, and his whole life was back here in WA, so he moved back three weeks ago. He is in an LDR with his girlfriend, and he's currently going through the same thing James did when he tried to be friends with them again. I don't want J & his girlfriend to have the same fate we've had.

I just guess I'm really unsure on what to do. James has helped me grow a lot these past three years, but his friends are dragging him down, and I feel like this is the beginning of an emotionally abusive relationship.

Does anyone have advice?