Current:Home > NewsMiranda Sings YouTuber Colleen Ballinger Breaks Silence on Grooming Allegations With Ukulele Song-LoTradeCoin
Miranda Sings YouTuber Colleen Ballinger Breaks Silence on Grooming Allegations With Ukulele Song
View Date:2024-12-24 00:24:30
Colleen Ballinger is singing her side of the story.
The YouTuber, best known for her awkward alter ego Miranda Sings, refuted allegations of grooming and forming inappropriate relationships with underage fans in musical vlog on June 28. While strumming a ukulele, Ballinger likened the accusations to a "toxic gossip train" headed for "manipulation station" as the rest of the internet "tie me to the tracks and harass me for my past."
"Some people are saying things about me that just aren't true," she said in a sing-song voice. "Even though my team has strongly advised me not to say what I'm going to say, I realized they never said I couldn't sing about what I want to say."
Ballinger, 36, went on to explain how she used to message her fans "to be besties with everybody" earlier in her career, but "didn't understand that maybe there should be some boundaries there."
As a result, according to the Haters Back Off star, there were "times in the DMs when I would overshare details of my life—which was really weird of me—and I haven't done that in years because I changed my behavior and took accountability."
Earlier this month, Ballinger was accused of grooming her fans when YouTuber KodeeRants shared screenshots of an alleged text exchange between actress and her fans. Per NBC News, the unverified group text was named "Colleeny's Weenies," with Ballinger allegedly asking fans their "favorite position" during one conversation.
In her ukulele video, Ballinger addressed the recent online chatter over her past, singing, "I thought you wanted me to take accountability, but that's not the point of your mob mentality. Your goal is to ruin the life of the person you despise while you dramatize your lies and monetize their demise."
"I'm sure you're disappointed in my s--tty little song, I know you wanted me to say that I was 100 percent in the wrong," she continued. "Well, I'm sorry I'm not gonna take that route of admitting to lies and rumors that you made up for clout."
And while Ballinger confessed to making "jokes in poor taste" and "lots of dumb mistakes," she denied ever sending inappropriate messages to teenage fans with the intention of grooming them.
"I just wanted to say that thing I've ever groomed is my two Persian cats," Ballinger added. "I'm not a groomer. I'm just a loser who didn't understand I shouldn't respond to fans."
Allegations over Ballinger's behavior previously surfaced back in 2020, when fellow YouTube star Adam McIntyre accused her of putting him in uncomfortable situations between the ages of 13 and 16. In a video titled "colleen ballinger, stop lying," he specifically called out a past livestream where Ballinger sent him lingerie.
At the time, Ballinger responded to McIntyre and acknowledged that the underwear stunt was "completely stupid," saying in a separate apology video, "I should have never sent that."
"I don't know what part of my brain was missing at the time that I thought, 'Oh, this is a normal, silly thing to do,'" added Ballinger. "But I am not a monster."
(E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (4268)
Related
- Insurance magnate pleads guilty as government describes $2B scheme
- Australia wins toss and will bowl against India in the Cricket World Cup final
- Bruins forward Milan Lucic taking leave of absence after reported arrest for domestic incident
- Honda recalls nearly 250,000 vehicles including Odyssey, Pilot, Acura models. See a list.
- Officer injured at Ferguson protest shows improvement, transferred to rehab
- Cheers! Bottle of Scotch whisky sells for a record $2.7 million at auction
- Century-overdue library book is finally returned in Minnesota
- Texas pushes some textbook publishers to remove material on fossil fuels
- Martin Scorsese on the saints, faith in filmmaking and what his next movie might be
- COMIC: What it's like living with an underactive thyroid
Ranking
- Trump ally Steve Bannon blasts ‘lawfare’ as he faces New York trial after federal prison stint
- Park University in Missouri lays off faculty, cuts programs amid sharp enrollment drop
- Russian drones target Kyiv as UK Defense Ministry says little chance of front-line change
- Honda recalls nearly 250,000 vehicles including Odyssey, Pilot, Acura models. See a list.
- Taylor Swift touches down in Kansas City as Chiefs take on Denver Broncos
- Taylor Swift fan dies at Rio concert as fans complain about high temperatures and lack of water
- One woman's controversial fight to make America accept drug users for who they are
- How Snow Takes Center Stage in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Recommendation
-
US Diplomats Notch a Win on Climate Super Pollutants With Help From the Private Sector
-
Pumped Storage Hydro Could be Key to the Clean Energy Transition. But Where Will the Water Come From?
-
Nearby Residents and Environmentalists Criticize New Dominion Natural Gas Power Plant As a ‘Slap In the Face’
-
Florida State QB Jordan Travis cheers on team in hospital after suffering serious injury
-
Why Suits' Gabriel Macht Needed Time Away From Harvey Specter After Finale
-
Investigators found fire and safety hazards on land under I-10 in Los Angeles before arson fire
-
$1.35 billion Mega Millions winner sues mother of his child for disclosing jackpot win
-
Australia wins toss and will bowl against India in the Cricket World Cup final