Current:Home > ContactMiranda Sings YouTuber Colleen Ballinger Breaks Silence on Grooming Allegations With Ukulele Song -Aspire Money Growth
Miranda Sings YouTuber Colleen Ballinger Breaks Silence on Grooming Allegations With Ukulele Song
View
Date:2025-04-12 09:04:31
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! (96289)
Related
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Supreme Court to hear challenges to Texas, Florida social media laws
- Tennessee bill addressing fire alarms after Nashville school shooting heads to governor
- These Cheap Products Will Make Your Clothes, Shoes, Bags & More Look Brand New
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- This teenager was struggling to find size 23 shoes to wear. Shaq came to his rescue.
- Man is shot and killed on a light rail train in Seattle, and suspect remains on the loose
- A shooting claimed multiple lives in a tiny Alaska whaling village. Here’s what to know.
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- Natalee Holloway's Brother Shares Bone-Chilling Details From Days After Her Murder
Ranking
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Once Upon a Time’s Chris Gauthier Dead at 48
- US Rep. Andy Kim sues over what he calls New Jersey’s ‘cynically manipulated’ ballot system
- 3 charged in ‘targeted’ shooting that killed toddler at a Wichita apartment, police say
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Josh Hartnett Reveals He and Tamsin Egerton Privately Welcomed Baby No. 4
- Biden is traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday, according to AP sources
- 2 killed, 2 wounded in Milwaukee when victims apparently exchange gunfire with others, police say
Recommendation
Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
Man arrested in connection with Kentucky student wrestler's death: What we know
How Keke Palmer and Ex Darius Jackson Celebrated Son Leo on His First Birthday
Massachusetts governor faults Steward Health Care system for its fiscal woes
A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
New York City honors victims of 1993 World Trade Center bombing
Raising a child with autism in Kenya: Facing stigma, finding glimmers of hope
Famed Cuban diva Juana Bacallao, who ruled the island's cabaret scene, dies at 98