YouTuber Colleen Ballinger has been accused of grooming & manipulating minors back in 2020, but things are getting more clear in 2023.
YouTuber Collen “Miranda Sings” Ballinger is receiving heavy backlash, as fans turn on the popular content creator, following the allegations of grooming, manipulating and bullying of minors.
Colleen Ballinger is renowned for her YouTube character, Miranda Sings, which she created to satirize people with misplaced confidence in their talents. With her humorous, off-key singing and eccentric behavior, she quickly gained a big following, leading to her having her own Netflix series, “Haters Back Off”, and global comedy tours.
Back in 2020, Ballinger was first accused of grooming, manipulating, and bullying underage fans, by Adam McIntyre (a former fan of hers) describing her toxic behavior in a YouTube video.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, grooming refers to the deliberate process of and adult to establish an emotional connection and trust with a minor with the intent of manipulating and exploiting them for sexual purposes. This often involves tactics such as giving gifts, attention, or affection, and progressively desensitizing them to sexual content and behavior.
The video was met with a lot of backlash at the time, as fans doubted the allegations brought up by McIntyre.
On June 8, 2023, Adam posted a new video going over the allegations once more, providing screenshots of conversations he had with Ballinger at the time as proof.
Adam McIntyre Speaks Up Against Colleen Ballinger
The video starts off with McIntyre thanking the Ballinger fandom for their support, as the initial backlash apparently turned, with more people that witnessed Colleen's off-the-rails behavior coming forward.
After he apologized to some people he wronged in the past, because of the situation, he goes right into the evidence, showing screenshots of the group chat, “the weenies”.
The screenshots show a wide variety of inappropriate messages, Colleen sent to her fans, like asking them about their favorite sexual position, or asking Adam for pics of his ass.
At that time, Ballinger was already in her 30s, while most of the people in the group chat were minors, which ties into the allegations of her grooming and manipulating minors.
McIntyre also explains how he and Colleen would make fun of fans and how the now 36-year-old would encourage bullying in her group chats.
There is also the fact that Colleen would manipulate McIntyre into doing free labor for her, which ultimately ended their friendship.
The allegations against Colleen Ballinger have gained momentum as more and more former fans (some of which were part of the group chat) started speaking up.
Another Former Fan Opens Up About Colleen Ballinger Exploiting Minors
One of the people coming forward amid the accusations against Colleen is a young woman named Becky.
The situation went viral before Becky even spoke out, so she decided to share her perspective on the matter, providing important insights into her perception and the emotional impact this had on her.
@noitsbecks #stitch with @ImJustZander #colleenballinger #colleenballingerallegations #mirandasings #ballingerfamily my experience with @Colleen Ballinger
original sound - becky
Becky was part of a segment during one of the Miranda shows and opened up about a situation where “Coleen exploited [her] minor body for entertainment & money and did not protect [her] safety”.
She is referring to a specific part of the show, where Colleen called her up on stage, spread her legs as far as possible for something called “the Yoga challenge”. At the time, Becky was wearing unfitting clothes, which didn't deter Colleen from following through with the segment.
Becky explains how she “was terrified that [her] body wasn't covered enough” and how it felt “incredibly sexually violating”.
She also posted a clip of the situation on Twitter, showing how she had to cover herself a little before she even stood up.
the whole bit here was that i "farted" while in this position which is 1) really childish and 2) fucking embarrassing when you're already in a vulnerable position. i was only a teenager here and you can see that i had to stop and cover myself up before i even stood up. pic.twitter.com/cPQVKAUMQv
— becky (@noitsbecks) June 10, 2023
At that time, Becky was 16-years-old, and after the show ended, she goes into more detail, how she "did not feel safe leaving the venue” afterward.
We will have to wait and see, whether this will have any serious consequences for the YouTuber, but as more and more fans are coming forward, things aren't looking too good for her.