Internet personality Colleen Ballinger, best known for her Miranda Sings character, has responded to allegations of inappropriate behavior towards underage fans by singing a song.
In recent weeks, Ballinger has been targeted by fellow YouTubers and former superfans, who have accused him of “policing” the workforce as well as making sexual jokes about minors in group chats. Amidst the suspicion swirling, there were voices calling for the Haters to withdraw! In the middle of Miranda Sings’ tour, the actor stopped posting on his social media pages for nearly a month.
Ballinger broke her silence Wednesday by posting a 10-minute video titled “Hello” on her Colleen Vlogs YouTube account. In it, she speaks about her allegations in song form while strumming her ukulele. Ballinger’s team “strongly advised me not to say what I wanted to say,” she sings, adding, “I recently realized that the team never said I couldn’t sing,” she sassy. added to.
“People just believe you’re the type of person who manipulates and abuses children. I was just trying to say that I’ve only ever groomed two Persian cats,” Ballinger said. sang. “I’m not a groomer, I’m just a loser who didn’t understand that I shouldn’t react to my fans. Because I told a fart joke years ago.”
The latter line refers to a clip from a recently resurfaced Ballinger live show, in which she had a fan on her back, legs spread, and farts blaring from the speakers. TMZ reported The viral clip led to the loss of several corporate sponsorship deals for her “Relax!” podcast. The Times confirmed to New York-based online telemedicine appointment service Zocdoc that it stopped advertising on Ballinger’s podcast during the drama.
“No offense to me, but I feel like…” Ballinger sings toward the end of the song, staring into the camera with a devastated look before looking down to the chorus of “Toxic Gossip Train.” continued to play , she repeated it throughout the song.
Many of the allegations against Ballinger were first revealed in April 2020 by former Ballinger fan and now successful YouTube personality Adam McIntyre. in the videoMcIntyre slammed her relationship with Miranda Sings over controversial tweets she sent to her account about LGBTQ+ people after Ballinger used her for unpaid social media activism to revive Miranda Sings’ account. He cut off and then claimed to have ghosted. Ballinger was also criticized for sending underwear to McIntyre as a joke.
Published by Ballinger 13 minute apology video A month later, she explained that it was normal for her to hire fans for social media work as well as work on tour, but that she often put them to the test before being hired. . She said McIntyre was as well, and she took responsibility for the controversial tweet.
“I’m not a monster, I’m not a groomer,” Ballinger said in a 2020 video, adding that he’s been in touch with McIntyre’s mother after the tweet. “I care about him as much as all the fans I’ve interacted with over the years and wish him nothing but success, happiness and love.”
After her apology, fans rallied around Ballinger, dismissing McIntyre’s allegations and continuing to support her cause.
But earlier this month, McIntyre doubled his stance He was mistreated by Ballinger, claiming she “used” and “trolled” me.
The issue resurfaced on June 3 when YouTube personality Kodee Tyler, known as KodeeRants, shared a lengthy video discussing his relationship with Miranda Sing star Ballinger’s “toxic” fanbase. She referenced McIntyre’s previous video about Ballinger and defended him for speaking out in 2020. A few days later, Tyler deleted the video and deactivated his YouTube and other social media accounts.
Tyler also shared an allegedly obtained screenshot of Ballinger appearing to ask a minor in a group chat if she is a virgin and the name of her favorite sex position. In a follow-up video, McIntyre said, he claimed to be the recipient About the group chat message, he added that he was 15 years old at the time.
Tyler admitted that he, who was already an adult at the time, was in the same group chat and apologized, saying, “I shouldn’t have been in a group chat with minors.”
In a statement he sang, Ballinger admitted to group chats and direct messages with fans, saying that he had no “boundaries” at times and that he “sometimes over-shares details of his life, which can It was really strange to me,” he admitted. But she added that she changed her behavior years ago and that she considers herself responsible since then.
McIntyre joined his YouTube channel It said it did not receive a personal apology from the cast for Ballinger’s statement. “I got a video of you singing, are you kidding me about it?” he said. “Colleen, I’m so glad you made a silly little song about this and it had no effect.
Since she began posting videos of her Miranda Sings character in 2009, Ballinger has capitalized on the hate she receives online and channeled it into her over-the-top diva persona. She crafted “Miranda” as a selfish satire on Internet personalities who sing poorly and have poor comic sense.
“People hated me … The first thing I felt was just hate. People despised Miranda,” Ballinger said on the show in 2017. Jimmy Fallon’s “The Tonight Show”. In the early days of YouTube, Ballinger said he was still new to online trolls sending hate mail. So she listened to her and “tried to egg it” instead of ignoring their opinion.
“So when each video tells me they don’t like my lipstick, I make it bigger,” she said. “If they don’t like the way I talk, I’ll say something even weirder. I mean, the people I don’t like have made weird characters. Because whatever they don’t like, Because I did it even more.”
Her fame reached a high point in 2016 when Netflix allowed her to produce the two-season series Haters Back Off! Based on her Miranda character. In addition to appearing on Fallon’s late-night show, she appeared on the cover of Variety magazine and appeared in “Chelsea” with Chelsea Handler and “Live with Kelly and Ryan.”
In 2018, Ballinger gave The Times a tour of Encino’s home, half of which was designated for office work, and cited a ukulele and other favorite non-Miranda items. The other half was dedicated to Miranda’s character, with the walls adorned with quirky fan art and gifts, including paintings and dolls created as her alter ego. The closet space was lined with colorful, camp-like outfits. This space served as the backdrop for many of Miranda’s videos.
“If my fans hadn’t watched my videos and cheered me on, I wouldn’t be in this house,” Ballinger told The Times. “That’s why it’s important to involve them as part of the video and the journey.”
A representative for Ballinger did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.
