Fans have come for the father of an extremely successful family YouTube channel — featuring his 2-year-old daughter — after uncovering old tweets they say are disparaging to women, specifically black women.
The ACE Family channel was started in January 2016 by Austin McBroom and Catherine Paiz, and has since grown to more than 10 million followers.
Their videos — which include vlogs, challenges, pranks, and music videos — have collectively amassed 1,534,627,927 views.
Their 2-year-old child, Elle, is featured throughout the channel and has 3.5 million fans on her own Instagram account.
The YouTube family has seen a surge of success and endorsements.
But over the past few days, a swarm of controversy has followed McBroom. People are sharing screenshots of his older tweets that some believe are racially insensitive, "discriminating," and obsessive over women of color.
"If you like em nice rachet [sic], black with the cheeks without morals...the city of St. Louis is for you," read a tweet from 2013 that now appears to be deleted.
"Michigan black chicks make California black chicks look like beauty queens !!!" another read.
The tweets, most of them from 2011 to 2013, started surfacing around March this year. And many of them seem to still be up.
St. Louis is scaring me away from black girls.....blondes with blue eyes are looking more appealing !
Why r black chicks thick as hell ?
Can't do black girls cuz after I'm done, imma have to pay for their hair. #allbad
Recently, fans — or, er, former fans — got into the mentions and suggested that they're moving away from the channel.
@AustinMcbroom * unsubscribe*
@AustinMcbroom You’re over
McBroom also seems to not only tweet about black women.
I need a massage, where my lil asians ?
I just got flicked off by an Asian lady 😂😂😂
In fact, women — or "females" — were a constant subject of his tweets. And how he perceived "females" and their female values should be.
Females be talkin about "my heart was broken" if your heart was broken you'd be dead so shut up.
Females morals these days....NONE !
"I sit behind two of the hairiest females I have ever witnessed in math class. #wow," McBroom tweeted in September 2011.
I sit behind two of the hairiest females I have ever witnessed in my math class. #wow
He also had impassioned and opinionated thoughts about dating women.
My girl looks better than yo girl and my girl doesn't even wear makeup 😳
Ugly chicks do not need to be drinking !
If yo girl ain't crazy you ain't hittin it right !
One user called for him to "apologize" or "delete" his "fucked up" musings.
Can’t even believe @AustinMcbroom the man who constantly uplifts women would say such a fucked up thing about black women and idc if this is old he was 19/20 and needs to apologize or delete https://t.co/DbbPTbl7mF
So just found out @AustinMcbroom has multiple offensive tweets from when he was 19 talking down on black girls 😐😐😐😐
In a video released earlier this year, McBroom addressed some early accusations of him being racist by calling it "fucking hilarious" and "some straight bullshit." He also literally brought his mom into his response, on camera, to claim he could not be racist against black women, because his mom is a black woman.
View this video on YouTube
"Now that I think about it...wasn't your ex-girlfriend black?" McBroom's mother said in another defense of his son.
She went on to equate his son's family and the ACE Family channel to the Huxtables and The Cosby Show.
"You're a jokester. I know it was a joke," she said of her son's old tweets.
But many on social media, like @dcnvrs, did not see his tweets as a joke at all. "Just because his mother is black doesn’t mean that he can be colorist towards his own race," they said.
@srcnisex @AustinMcbroom @CatherinePaiz Lol. He demonstrated colorism by his disgusting vile racist comments about black women from when he was old enough to know better. When stupid dizzy non black POC speak on colorism it highlights your naivety, his mother embarrassed herself, obviously where he gets it from. Next!
Longtime fans are saying the tweets run counter to McBroom's family-man image on YouTube.
@dcnvrs @AustinMcbroom damn son this really you tweeting this nonsense?! Smh not here for the other speculations but if these tweets are FACTS then it’s disappointing.
I actually used to watch the ace family but their content got so boring, seemed ungenuine and i found out about Austin colorist tweets
Raaahh all these tweets about the Ace family, I donʻt look at them the same way anymore😕
Other ardent fans are defending the family, calling them "genuine & loving people" who are "amazing human beings period."
@dcnvrs These tweets were from 2013 lmao get over it, that’s their past &? wasting your time “exposing” & “spilling tea” on The Ace Family. They’re genuine & loving people. They may put on a show for the camera once in a while but they give back & are amazing human beings period. Bitter
@spidymorales @isaccmatthew_ bruh ur annoying like we all haven’t done something we regret or made mistakes all the tweets are old the ACE family is amazing
"The [ACE] Family ... has past mistakes just like everyone else," someone added.
Unpopular opinion: the Ace Family is a growing FAMILY. has past mistakes just like everyone else. & has done none to any of US personally..... why waste time hating on them??? tfuuuck
BuzzFeed News has reached out to YouTube for comment. Meanwhile, McBroom has recently and cryptically addressed all of the critics by dubbing them "clout chasers."
I’M PUTTING A STOP TO ALL THESE CLOUT CHASERS!
The ACE family is so cringe.. don’t @ me