YouTuber Colleen Ballinger Refutes Grooming Claims — On Her Ukulele

YouTube creator Colleen Ballinger, famous for her character Miranda Sings, has publicly addressed allegations of inappropriate relationships with teenagers, denying the accusations in a video posted on her Colleen Vlogs channel. Ballinger incorporated her response into a song, strumming a ukulele as she expressed her side of the story.

"Some people are saying things about me that just aren't true," Ballinger stated at the beginning of the 10-minute video. Despite her team advising against her response, she decided to express herself through music. She admitted to having messaged her fans in the past, clarifying that it was not in a creepy manner but rather an attempt to befriend them. She acknowledged that there were times when she overshared in direct messages but claimed to have changed her behavior and taken accountability for her actions.

In her song, Ballinger sang, "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." Throughout the video, she referred to the allegations as "the toxic gossip train."

Regarding the appropriateness of her character Miranda Sings for children, Ballinger emphasized that her content is labeled "PG-13" and is not available on the YouTube Kids app. She stressed that it is ultimately the responsibility of parents to decide what their children consume.

The allegations against Ballinger came to light three years ago, with YouTuber Adam McIntyre accusing her of forming an inappropriate personal friendship with him between the ages of 13 and 16. McIntyre claimed that Ballinger sent him lingerie as a joke, provided access to her social media, and exchanged text messages for years. Ballinger acknowledged making jokes in poor taste and dumb mistakes but denied any intentions of manipulation.

In response to Ballinger's video, McIntyre tweeted, "As much as Colleen discredited & made fun of me, I'm glad her video did ONE thing, show you all EXACTLY the type of evil woman she is, that a lot of us have experienced over the past few years behind the scenes, the mask has slipped…everyone meet the REAL Colleen Ballinger."