YouTuber, comedienne, actress and musician Colleen Ballinger (36) is currently in the middle of a shitstorm after allegations by former fans. The allegations include grooming underage fans. Translated, grooming means “initiation” and in pedophile crime refers to the targeted contacting of minors, behind which there is an intention of abuse.
Adam McIntyre, a former fan of the YouTuber, had already published the allegations in 2020, and now he went back to Ballinger’s alleged “grooming” practices in a video. He reported on group conversations in which the then over 30-year-old is said to have asked her fans, who are said to have been between the ages of 14 and 16, inappropriate questions about her first period or first sex.
Back in 2020, he claimed Ballinger formed “an inappropriate personal friendship” with him when he was between the ages of 13 and 16. Among other things, she is said to have sent him underwear as a joke. He went on to say that Ballinger gave him access to her social media, helped her come up with content ideas, and they exchanged text messages for years.
After McIntyre’s video, other fans reported similar situations. A “Becky”, apparently now a friend of McIntyre, accuses the YouTuber in a tweet of having humiliated her for entertainment on her show.
A video shows how she was on stage as a 16-year-old for a “yoga challenge”. She let the star spread her legs in a short skirt in front of the audience, to which a fart sound was recorded. She writes, “It’s okay to call her a groomer or a pedophile because that’s what she is. Normal people don’t do that to kids.”
Ballinger is one of America’s most successful YouTube stars and has over 22 million followers on three YouTube channels. She became known with her approximately 13-year-old, rather talentless and extremely childish fictional character Miranda Sings, with whom she parodies teenagers who want to be discovered on the Internet and become famous. She now has her own Netflix series (“Haters Back Off”), appeared on Jerry Seinfeld’s (69) “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” and has written two bestsellers.
Colleen Ballinger has now commented on the allegations on her personal YouTube channel, apparently against the advice of her management. In a 10-minute song, she sings to the sound of a ukulele about the allegations, which she described as “toxic gossip” and “lies.”
Early on in her YouTube career, Ballinger says, “I messaged my fans – but not in a creepy way like a lot of you guys are trying to suggest. It was more of a loser ploy. I was just trying to to be friends with everyone.” Ballinger said she saw her fans as friends and knew no boundaries. She further admits that “there were times when I shared too much in the DMs”.
She continues, “I’m not a groomer, just a loser / who didn’t understand that I shouldn’t respond to fans / and I’m not a predator, even though many of you think so / because five years ago I made a fart joke have made.” Ballinger further claims she changed her behavior and took “accountability” for her past actions.
Ballinger couldn’t stop the shitstorm with the video. In the comments, she is accused of “mocking” her accusers with the song and downplaying a serious situation.
