Warning: This story contains discussion of grooming and inappropriate conduct.
Colleen Ballinger is being called “insensitive” after choosing to address the serious allegations that she “groomed” her fans with a 10-minute ukulele song.
The 36-year-old YouTuber, who has played Miranda Sings on the site for a decade and a half, has come under fire in recent years over accusations of inappropriate conduct with her former fans.
Miranda’s fanbase has always largely consisted of young kids and teenagers. In 2020, several of her former viewers came forward with allegations that Colleen had engaged in inappropriate behavior with them, such as sending a 13-year-old fan named Adam McIntyre underwear.
At the time, Colleen released a video addressing the accusations, during which she confirmed that she’d sent Adam a pair of her underwear when he was 13. Though she claimed that it was just a “joke” and nothing “creepy” or “gross,” she admitted that the move was “completely stupid.”
Fast forward three years, and various new claims about Colleen’s alleged past behavior have come to light after more former fans started speaking out on their alleged experiences with her.
Last week, a report published by The Huffington Post highlighted several of these fans’ allegations. Adam, who spoke with the outlet, claimed that Colleen repeatedly talked about sex in a group chat called “weenies” that other teenage fans were in, and that she would regularly “trauma dump” on them about her divorce from YouTuber Joshua Evans in 2016.
Another fan who spoke with the publication, Brey, recalled feeling like Colleen’s “bodyguard” as she highlighted how she would relentlessly defend the YouTuber against hate online in the wake of her divorce — something that Colleen had allegedly encouraged. Her ex-husband, Joshua, wound up telling HuffPost that he received death threats from Colleen’s fans amid their split.
In light of all these allegations circulating online, several clips from past Miranda Sings YouTube videos and live shows have resurfaced across social media and been criticized by fans for their alleged inappropriate nature.
One clip in particular that has received heaps of backlash in recent weeks features Miranda bringing a young fan on stage for a yoga skit. The fan in question was wearing a short romper with no pants, and had her legs spread by Colleen as she lay on her back while a loud fart noise played over the speakers.
Now, Colleen has addressed the various allegations in a new YouTube video, although in the form of a song.
“Hey, it’s been a while since you saw my face,” she sings while playing the ukulele. “I haven’t been doing so well, so I took a little break. A lot of people are saying some things about me that aren’t quite true... Doesn’t matter if it’s true though, as long as it’s entertaining to you. Right?”
Colleen’s song features a recurring chorus about a “toxic gossip train.” She refers to the allegations as “hateful accusations” and “misinformation,” while repeating the line: “You got a one-way ticket to manipulation station.”
“Hi everyone,” she later says, still strumming her ukulele. “I’ve been wanting to come online and talk to you about a few things. Even though my team has strongly advised me not to say what I wanna say, I recently realized that they never said that I couldn’t sing what I wanna say.”
Colleen continues, “Many years ago, I used to message my fans. But not in a creepy way, like a lot of you are trying to suggest. It was more of a loser kind of way. I was just trying to be besties with everybody.”
Addressing the “group chats” that she used to be in with her fans, Colleen notes: “It was weird.” She then goes on to say that because of how close she felt to her viewers, she saw them all as her friends before realizing “that there should be some boundaries.”
“There were times in the DMs when I would overshare details of my life, which was really weird of me,” she says. “I haven’t done that for years... Because I changed my behavior, and I took accountability.”
Going on to seemingly address the fans currently speaking out about their alleged experiences with her, Colleen calls out the people hiding “behind a screen,” harboring a “mob mentality,” and monetizing her “demise.”
“I’m not gonna take that route of admitting to lies and rumors that you made up for clout,” she sings, while noting that although she anticipates major criticism towards her response, she refuses to say she was “100% in the wrong.”
Colleen then pivots towards Miranda Sings more specifically. “I also wanted to take a minute to talk about that girl Miranda Sings,” she says. “She’s PG-13. It says that on my website and it’s always been that way. And that’s why you won’t find my videos on the YouTube Kids app.”
“I didn’t realize it was my responsibility to decide what was appropriate for every kid to see,” she sings. “I’ve always relied on parents to decide if they’re comfortable with their families watching my YouTube videos or coming to my live shows.”
Colleen continues, “Have I made some jokes in poor taste? Yes. Have I made lots of dumb mistakes? Yes. Am I sad that there are some fans who feel betrayed? Yes. But was it my intention to manipulate? No.”
“But it doesn’t really matter what my intention was, because it seems as though everyone’s already decided on that,” she says, before later adding that “millions of people” now believe she’s someone who “manipulates and abuses children.”
Denying the grooming allegations specifically, Colleen sings, “The only thing I’ve ever groomed is my two Persian cats. I’m not a groomer, I’m just a loser who didn’t understand I shouldn’t respond to fans.”
She then appears to address the aforementioned resurfaced clip from the Miranda Sings live show where the young fan was pulled on stage for the “yoga challenge” in spite of their minimal clothing.
“I’m not a predator, even though a lot of you think so because five years ago I made a fart joke,” she sings.
“Even though this video won’t change anyone’s mind about me, I still felt it was important to come on here and defend myself a little and take accountability,” she adds.
Several fans have been left appalled and “disappointed” by Colleen’s response to such serious allegations, labeling the entire song as “inappropriate” and “insensitive.”
“You mean to tell me, she wrote, rehearsed and rehearsed, sat down to film this, and still thought it was a good idea?” read one popular YouTube comment with over 37,000 likes.
“she's obviously not taking this situation seriously if she's singing this in a SONG,” another person wrote. “Not totally sure it counts as taking accountability when you turn the whole thing into a joke/song, but sure,” someone else added.
“colleen ballinger approaching her grooming accusations by playing the ukulele and joking the only thing she’s groomed is her cats… girl bffr. that’s so unserious and insensitive and NOT helping,” one person tweeted.
“absolutely ridiculous and inappropriate of her. even if the allegations weren’t true (which they are), this is such an insensitive thing to say,” someone else wrote in response to a tweet quoting Colleen’s line about only grooming her “Persian cats.”
“colleen ballinger, what in the actual fuck did i just watch- this was so, so much worse than fake crying on camera. this was so insensitive and invalidating, i feel sick on behalf of everyone involved,” said another user.
Well, some of the people directly involved in the controversy, such as Adam, have expressed their disappointment at Colleen’s response to the allegations.
“as much as colleen discredited & made fun of me, im glad her video did ONE thing, show you all EXACTLY the type of evil woman she is, that a lot of us have experienced over the past few years behind the scenes, the mask has slipped…everyone meet the REAL colleen ballinger,” Adam wrote.
Meanwhile, Colleen’s ex-husband, Joshua, has also shared his thoughts on her new video.
“This behavior was my reality anytime I spoke up & disagreed with her actions & rhetoric during 2009-2016. I was gaslit too. I was made to feel like I was always the problem. Any pain I felt was an inconvenience and was belittled,” he claimed on Twitter.
“I have no desire to use this as a catalyst for a YouTube comeback. It’s not a safe place for me. I’m past that. My voice is only here to help validate those that are hurting, nothing more. I have no need to make any money off of this. That is gross & not in my heart, whatsoever,” he added.
