This post contains discussion of grooming and racial insensitivity.
Another day, another controversy surrounding YouTube personality Colleen Ballinger, aka Miranda Sings.
Let's recap: Earlier this week, a video made the rounds that showed Colleen performing Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" while wearing what looked like dark face paint during a 2009 performance.
There was speculation that Colleen was engaging in blackface during the performance — but in a statement to Variety, her legal reps claim that is not the case.
Law firm Berk Brettler said to the publication that Colleen was actually wearing green face paint during the performance — and that, prior to performing "Single Ladies," she also performed "As Long as You're Mine" from the musical Wicked (with the green face paint gesturing toward Wicked's Elphaba).
Variety also said her reps claim that "at that time Ballinger closed all her shows with that Beyoncé song as it was one of her most popular bits."
The commotion around this unearthed clip is just the latest controversy that Colleen has faced in the last several weeks.
Late last month, Colleen was accused of inappropriate contact with several of her fans. “Colleen Ballinger grooms her fans,” Adam McIntyre alleged in a video. “Emotionally, grooms her fans for her own benefit. She’s done it to me. I will go on the record saying that.”
Colleen responded with a now-infamous 10-minute YouTube video in which she attempted to address the allegations, partially in song, while playing the ukulele.
Last week, a former employee on her since-canceled Netflix show Haters Back Off!detailed allegations of racist behavior and disturbing content that Colleen allegedly wanted to work into the show.
“While I cannot speak to the specific allegations against Colleen Ballinger — I stand with every single one of the children and young adults who have bravely shared their experiences in the past few weeks," April Korto Quioh wrote in a newsletter post that revealed her allegations.
You can read more about the various allegations against Colleen here and here.
If you are concerned that a child is experiencing or may be in danger of abuse, you can call or text the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (4.A.CHILD); service can be provided in over 140 languages.
