For almost 10 years, Colleen Ballinger has been a prominent figure on YouTube, gaining tens of millions of fans, many of whom discovered her when they were only adolescents or younger. They were enamored by her sultry humor, particularly concerning her made-up character Miranda Sings, an untalented teenager who mistakenly thinks she can sing even though she is constantly off-key. Marginalized kids found the character relatable, as they recognized her fervent want for recognition to be realistic. Ballinger’s success led to several things, including a Netflix series, sold-out live performances, and most lately, escalating controversy. Ballinger was allegedly involved in “inappropriate behavior” with fans who were young, according to a Rolling Stone article that was published late last month. Let us have a look at the star and what the true and complete story is.
Who is the famous Miranda sings?
In real life, Colleen Mae Ballinger is a multi-talented comedian who runs a successful YouTube channel. She not only sings but creates funny videos for her channel. She gained the most attention while playing the online persona Miranda Sings. She has also acted in the Netflix original series Haters Back Off (2016–2017). The famous actress made up the hilariously inept, conceited, and quirky persona to parody the plethora of YouTube videos in which people sing poorly in an attempt to become famous, but who don’t seem to realize how awful they sound. These videos are liked by the majority of the audience.
Ballinger also has a vlog channel called Colleen Vlogs and a personal YouTube account where she posts humorous and lifestyle videos. Her cumulative views on all of her YouTube channels have exceeded 5 billion. More than 10 million people subscribe to the Miranda Sings channel, and the persona has more than 13 million TikTok and 6 million Instagram followers. Ballinger took home the Best Actress Streamy Award and the Teen Choice Award for “Web Star: Comedy”.
What are the accusations all about?
Colleen has been accused of improper behavior since 2020 when she was accused of having an inappropriate interaction with fellow YouTuber and ex-fan Adam McIntyre while he was a child. When Adam opened a Miranda Sings fan account in 2013 at the age of 10, the two became friends on the internet. Years later, he described a message he got from Colleen a month earlier in a video titled “Colleen Ballinger, stop lying,” which he posted in April 2020. It said: “I have a present for you today.” I trust you even though I’ve never done this with anybody else.” After granting Adam access to the official Miranda Sings Twitter account and referring to him as her “social media intern,” Colleen allegedly cut him off, maligned him, and destroyed the friendship group he had built within the fanbase.
Since then, he has released many further videos this month that describe his connection with Colleen. In one especially troubling accusation, he describes how, when he was fifteen and Colleen was thirty-one, they had planned to spend the day together. However, the meeting was short-lived since Colleen started acting rudely and unresponsively towards him. Miranda participated in a group chat with her younger admirers known as the “W*enies” as well. She had a tendency, according to Adam McIntyre, to ask her admirers improper questions, such as regarding their menstrual cycles or “periods.” In addition, Adam posted an additional one-hour film on his YouTube site discussing the comedian’s alleged poisonous character.
When did the first apology come?
Colleen answered several accusations in a May 2020 video titled “Addressing Everything,” including Adam’s assertion that she had mailed him a pair of her pants. “No, I should never have sent a fan knickers, how stupid am I?” she said. No, I shouldn’t have allowed him to access my Twitter account in the first place, and I also shouldn’t have spoken with him so frequently.” She also issued an apology over a racist video that made fun of Latina women, a fatphobic remark she made about a lady on an airplane and a now-viral video in which she joked about mistreating her childhood dog, who bit her and forced her family to put him down.
More downfall to come her way?
This month, several previously unresolved accusations against Colleen came to light following the removal of Kodee Tyler Dahl’s YouTube video, “Why I left the Colleen Ballinger fandom.” In it, the group claimed that Colleen had asked them not to share their follow-up to Adam’s 2020 video about the drama.
In their video, they revealed a private Twitter group chat called “Colleen’s Weenies group chat,” which was allegedly used by the YouTuber to ask inappropriate questions and make inappropriate comments to her closest fans, many of whom were minors. The topics included their favorite sex positions, their virginity, and “trauma dumping” regarding her personal life. Because of similar incidents, Colleen like Miranda Sings has also faced criticism. A fan who went by the social media handle @notitsbecks shared on June 6 her experience at a Miranda Sings performance in 2019. The fan said that she was approached on stage by “Miranda” and that she was then “exploited” by being placed in positions that exposed her body.
Other comparable incidents have surfaced, including her slut-shaming a 14-year-old (when she was in her 30s) over her attire for a Miranda Sings performance and asking a nine-year-old to reach down her trousers for a “snack” from the bag of cheese balls she would place in them while on stage. What the journey holds for the star, only time will tell. Apology has come up from her side and more allegations as well. The journey will not be easy because she has to fight against her fans. A star can never be a star without her fans so she has to be wise and empathetic while dealing with these accusations.
