This story contains discussion of grooming and inappropriate conduct.
You're probably aware of YouTuber Colleen Ballinger, aka Miranda Sings. She has a huge following with a younger audience, and she even had a Netflix show a few years back.
The Huffington Post reports that several of her fans recently came forward with allegations of inappropriate conduct towards them as teenagers, with one fan alleging that she "groomed" him.
One fan, Adam McIntyre, claimed that Colleen sent him a pair of her bra and panties when he was just 13 years old — an allegation that she confirmed in 2020 with a video titled "addressing everything," in which she referred to her actions as "completely stupid."
Adam also alleged that Colleen brought up sex several times in a group chat called "weenies" with other fans when he was a teenager, by asking him if he was a virgin and what his "favorite position" was.
Another fan who spoke to the publication, Brey, claimed that she would "trauma dump" on him and other young fans on the "weenies" chat after her divorce from YouTuber Joshua Evans in 2016 — and that they were essentially enlisted to defend her online in the wake of their split.
“I would be in class DMing her on my iPad...about her abusive ex-husband,” Adam added. “I was so involved in this woman’s life that it’s embarrassing to look back on."
"There were some days, on a school night, I would be up until like 4 a.m. trying to calm her down or try to give her advice...It was a private thing.”
The Huffington Post also reports that Colleen didn't reply to multiple requests for comment on the various allegations in their piece, and that she stopped posting new videos entirely shortly after Adam posted a YouTube titled, "i was right about colleen ballinger."
“Colleen Ballinger grooms her fans,” Adam alleged in the video. “Emotionally, grooms her fans for her own benefit. She’s done it to me. I will go on the record saying that.”
You can read more about the allegations against Colleen 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 1-800-422-2253 (4.A.CHILD); service can be provided in over 140 languages.
