YouTube star Colleen Ballinger shared a video of herself on Wednesday singing an original song addressing the wave of backlash following allegations that she engaged in inappropriate relationships with underage fans.
In the 10-minute video, titled “Hello”, Ballinger plays a ukulele and addresses what she calls “the facts”. He said that although his team “strongly advised” him “not to say what I want to say,” they never told him that he couldn’t sing.
“A lot of people say things about me that aren’t entirely true. It doesn’t matter if it’s true though, as long as it’s entertaining for you, right? Ballinger sings in the video, which was posted on her Colleen Vlogs channel, one of three she operates. “They are having fun? All aboard the toxic gossip train, puffing down the tracks of misinformation. The toxic gossip train.
Ballinger, 36, is known for her satirical alter ego, miranda sings, a goofy character who rose to fame for his bizarre singing style and lack of self-awareness. He created the character in 2008 and has amassed more than 22 million subscribers across different YouTube channels. He also had a Netflix show that ran for two seasons, as well as a comedy special currently available to stream on the platform.
Although many of Ballinger’s fans have followed her for more than a decade, some who recently spoke to NBC News said they are processing their guilt for supporting her and completely rethinking how they engage with fandoms.
Some videos circulating on social media from the last stop of Ballinger’s Miranda Sings tour in Indianapolis appear to show some fans booing her. NBC News was unable to independently verify the videos. Ballinger continues to tour through the fallaccording to their website.
Allegations about Ballinger’s behavior first surfaced in 2020, when YouTuber Adam McIntyre made a video claiming that he formed an inappropriate personal friendship with him when she was between the ages of 13 and 16, which included sending him lingerie as a prank. At the time, Ballinger responded to some of McIntyre’s accusations in a video titled “tackle everything.”
McIntyre’s allegations resurfaced this month after another YouTube creator, KodeeRants, who called McIntyre a liar in 2020, made a video alleging that Ballinger privately shared screenshots of messages with McIntyre in a group chat called “Colleeny’s Weenies.” .
In the alleged screenshots, shown in the now-deleted KodeeRants videos, Ballinger asks about the group’s “favorite position” and suggests that McIntyre include a question in a “Q&A” on his channel about whether the then-teenager Was she a virgin or not?
Ballinger did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday after he released his video. McIntyre also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
About halfway through his song “toxic gossip train”, Ballinger says that he “made some bad jokes” and “a lot of dumb mistakes”, but that he had no intention of manipulating fans. She goes on to state that the accusations that she is a “setter” or a “predator” are not true.
“But everyone thinks you’re the type of person who manipulates and abuses children,” Ballinger says, before pausing to look at the camera. “So I just wanted to say that the only thing I’ve ever brushed is my two Persian cats. I am not a hairdresser. I’m just a loser who didn’t understand that he shouldn’t respond to fans. And I’m not a predator, although many of you think so because five years ago I made a fart joke.
McIntyre was quick to respond to Ballinger’s video in a live stream on Twitch, during which he said he was in disbelief and claimed he had not received an apology directly or publicly from Ballinger.
“If anything, in this video, she has shown you that she is an evil, evil person. I dealt with the anger that she sent me in 2020,” McIntyre said during the broadcast. “This will be nothing like that, because the difference between then and now is that I was too afraid to speak up in 2020. I’m not too afraid to speak up in 2023, and I won’t stop talking about this now.”
mcintyre too tweeted a response to the song, echoing what he said during his live stream.
Accumulating more than 30,000 views and 10,000 comments within an hour of posting, Ballinger’s YouTube video sparked an immediate influx of reactions online.
His name was trending on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, and the video inspired a dmyluge from memonth.
Some commenters on the video appeared to express their support for Ballinger. Others online were more critical, with several on Twitter calling the song “slap in the face” to those who came forward with accusations.
