This story contains discussion of grooming and inappropriate conduct.
Colleen Ballinger, the YouTuber best known for her internet persona Miranda Sings, has been at the center of controversy this summer as more of her alleged behavior with former fans, friends, and employees came to light a few months ago. Several former fans came forward in June, accusing Colleen of inappropriate behavior with one fan claiming that she "groomed" them as teenagers.
As these allegations came out, many people were quick to remember a video, posted in 2016, where Colleen collabed with JoJo Siwa, who was 13 years old at the time. Over the years, they've become friends and collaborated on several more videos together.
Now, JoJo, who is 20 years old, is speaking publicly about her friendship with Colleen for the first time since the recent allegations surfaced.
On Tuesday's episode of the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast, Howie asked JoJo if she was still friends with Colleen. JoJo responded, saying, "Yeah, I've known Colleen since I was 12. ... She's always been nothing but kind to me; her family [has been] nothing but kind to me."
"This is the first time I've spoken about this, so I just want to make sure I say my exact piece that I want to say. The internet can take a lie and run so far with it, so far it's to the point where you just can't do anything about it," she continued.
"I've had that happen to me, and I know Colleen very, very, very well, and I think that the work Colleen has done for the internet is incredible. I think her creativity is incredible."
"Miranda Sings is a character, is a comedian. And I think that it's very hard to be a character where people are also looking at you as you're a real human behind that character. And I think being a comedian is very hard because you were able to do things years ago that were okay. And now that we've grown and we've matured, we've realized that they're not okay."
Howie then cut in and asked JoJo what it was like to be Colleen's friend after reading the allegations against her and if she thinks they're "all a lie." JoJo replied, saying, "There have been a lot of people on the internet who have gotten hit with this cancelation, and a lot of them I know. Some of them I don't know. And I look at it, and I see that this is a sensitive subject. Somebody who is affected by any sort of anything having to do with adults. And I mean, for real grooming, it's a very sensitive thing."
"The difference with Colleen and I...I became her friend. She became my friend, and she became somebody that I looked up to. She became somebody I idolized. She became somebody that I was like, 'Wow this person is a hard worker, she is a genius, she's a very strong YouTuber,' and I idolized that."
"Throughout our friendship, we've probably filmed 100 videos together, and she's cool. You know? I think the problem is the internet was able to capitalize off of her cancelation, and they still are, and they still are continuing to, and it's not okay because a lot of it is based off of lies."
While many have also claimed that her friendship with Colleen is just as inappropriate, even if she may not realize it.
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.