YouTuber and comic Colleen Ballinger has come underneath hearth after some disturbing new allegations by followers have surfaced.
Followers have accused Ballinger of sending them inappropriate objects and messages, forcing them into provocative poses whereas on stage for her reveals, and tricking them into working for her at no cost — all whereas they have been minors, being the ages of 16 and youthful on the time.
36-year-old Ballinger is most well-known for her Web character, Miranda Sings, which took YouTube by storm in 2008. The character of Miranda Sings mocks the egotistical, misguided, and quirky personalities of Ballinger’s friends in faculty and as of at the moment, the Youtube channel has over 10 million subscribers.
As Ballinger’s fanbase for Miranda Sings grew all through the years, she started to attach with a few of her followers on-line, lots of them who have been of their early or pre-teenage years. She would chat with them by way of Instagram, enable them to pitch concepts for her movies and would carry them on stage throughout her stay performances.
Nevertheless, issues have taken a darkish flip as a few of her followers recall feeling taken benefit of and made uncomfortable by actions and remarks she would make to them behind the scenes. A number of the followers have determined to come back ahead and share their experiences with Ballinger with the general public.
Folks have come ahead with disturbing Colleen Ballinger allegations stemming from the Miranda Sings Period.
Photograph: Instagram
1. Adam McIntyre claims that Ballinger despatched him lingerie, despatched him inappropriate messages, and used him to create free content material for her social media pages.
20-year-old content material creator Adam McIntyre from Derry, Eire, grew to become a fan of Miranda Sings when he was simply 11 years previous. In 2016, he claims the 2 started chatting on-line on a extra private stage after they met at one among her stay reveals. He says he was added to an Instagram group chat created by Ballinger, the place he and different followers, together with Ballinger and her sister-in-law, would trade random messages.
A number of the followers, together with McIntyre, have been underage on the time. In a YouTube video titled “my relationship with Colleen Ballinger,” McIntyre revealed screenshots of some invasive messages Ballinger would ship to the chat, together with asking ladies about their first interval experiences, asking McIntyre to ship provocative photographs of himself and asking him what his favourite intercourse place was.
Photograph: YouTube
Ballinger additionally allegedly despatched McIntyre lingerie within the mail when he was simply 15 years previous.
Moreover, McIntyre claims that Ballinger took benefit of him by having him create content material for her Miranda Sings social media pages for years with no pay. He remembers an incident the place Ballinger gave him entry to her Twitter account, telling him to “go loopy” and submit a few of his content material as Miranda Sings.
She later ceased contact with him after going through backlash over one among her posts the place she was accused of “queerbaiting” and unfold rumors amongst her mates that McIntyre created a hate account on-line about her.
In 2020, McIntyre posted a YouTube video titled “Colleen Ballinger, cease mendacity,” the place he shared his aspect of the story and known as her out for her actions. Since then, he has posted a number of movies to his YouTube detailing Ballinger’s inappropriate conversations with different underage followers, encouraging them to slander her ex-husband, Joshua Evans, and make enjoyable of different followers.
“For anybody who’s a fan of Colleen Ballinger… they make enjoyable of you [behind the scenes], they make enjoyable of your look, they make enjoyable of stuff you do, and I do know as a result of I used to be additionally with them doing it besides one group of us have been in our 30s, one group of us had not even hit the ripe age of 15 but,” McIntyre mentioned within the video.
After McIntyre’s preliminary video in 2020, Ballinger responded along with her personal video addressing all the allegations, the place she admitted to sending him lingerie and giving him management of her Twitter account.
She explains that she despatched the lingerie as a part of a giveaway that she was doing with followers the place she would ship them unused garments that she purchased and didn’t want, and thought it could be humorous to ship it to McIntyre after she claims that he requested for them, with out ever referring to him by identify.
“[I’ve] at all times given away bizarre stuff, and so in my thoughts on the time, this was no totally different than all the opposite bizarre stuff I’ve despatched to my followers as a joke,” Ballinger says.
She admitted that she “doesn’t know what a part of my mind was lacking on the time” when she thought it was a good suggestion, however stresses that the context of the scenario was “every thing.”
She additionally claimed that she had granted McIntyre entry to her Miranda Sings Twitter account for a day. “Through the years, I liked asking my followers for recommendation on what I ought to submit for Miranda movies, Miranda tweets, issues like that,” she says. She provides that she cares about McIntyre “a lot,” as she does all of her followers and needs him “nothing however success and happiness and love.”
2. A feminine fan was made uncomfortable by Ballinger on stage after she pressured her to carry a provocative pose throughout a stay efficiency.
Ballinger would usually go on tour and do love performances as Miranda Sings, the place she would pull followers from the viewers on stage to take part within the present. One in all her widespread skits concerned Miranda teasing those that wore “skimpy” and “revealing” outfits and calling them out on stage in entrance of the viewers.
One fan named Becky, who was 16 years previous on the time, took to TikTok to share her expertise on stage at a Miranda Sings present that left her feeling extraordinarily self-conscious.
Whereas she admitted that she was “attempting to decorate skimpy” in order that she can be known as on stage, she says that as an alternative she was beckoned for the “Yoga Problem” skit and that Ballinger’s eyes “widened” when she seen that she was solely carrying a costume and spandex.
“For some motive, that didn’t cease her from persevering with. In reality, no grownup at this level stepped into this case,” Becky experiences. Throughout the present phase, Becky defined how she needed to lie on her again whereas Ballinger grabbed her toes and unfold her legs “principally so far as she will be able to,” inflicting the spandex beneath her costume to turn out to be seen.
“I used to be mendacity underneath Colleen and she or he was smirking down at me whereas hundreds of individuals have been laughing and I used to be terrified that my physique wasn’t lined sufficient,” she says within the TikTok video. “For her to make use of my physique as leisure on stage actually set my confidence again rather a lot.”
The incident additionally left Becky feeling uncomfortable and unsafe, as she needed to stroll again to her automotive after the present, the place “many males” have been looking at her in a “very predatorial method” as a consequence of how uncovered she had been on stage.
“Colleen exploited my minor physique for leisure and cash and didn’t shield my security at this present.”
3. A fan claims that they now not help Colleen Ballinger after realizing that they have been in a gaggle chat created by her with minors.
Kodee Tyler, a content material creator and founding father of the YouTube channel KodeeRants, was a longtime fan of Ballinger for years and grew shut along with her and her household. Nevertheless, all of this has since modified.
In a now-deleted YouTube video titled “Why I left the Colleen Ballinger fandom…,” Kodee reveals that they have been added to one among Ballinger’s group chats that consisted of underage followers. Though they have been an grownup on the time, they have been reportedly unaware of the minors’ presence within the on-line chat and have since issued an apology.
“I ought to have achieved the analysis on [this], so I wish to apologize to any baby who was in these group chats. I mustn’t have been in a gaggle chat with you,” Kodee mentioned.
Moreover, Kodee shared screenshots of Ballinger asking followers, together with Adam McIntyre, inappropriate questions, together with asking McIntyre if he was a virgin when he was 15 years previous. Whereas Kodee initially sided with Ballinger by means of McIntyre’s allegations in 2020, they’ve since had a change of coronary heart after coming to phrases along with her actions towards underage followers.
Colleen Ballinger has but to handle the latest allegations and has been silent on all social media platforms.
Moreover, the Miranda Sings YouTube channel has misplaced over 30,000 subscribers in mild of latest occasions.
Megan Quinn is a author at YourTango who covers leisure and information, self, love, and relationships.
