The Colleen Ballinger allegations and the ukulele apology song, explained

Colleen Ballinger, a popular YouTuber and comedian known by the character name Miranda Sings, shocked fans with a video posted Wednesday. The video was released amid multiple allegations that the creator used her celebrity to facilitate toxic, exploitative and hurtful interactions with fans, as detailed in the coverage below Rolling Stone and numerous other outlets. Instead of a traditional apology video, however, Ballinger instead whipped out her ukulele and defended herself in an original song.

Ballinger began the video with a spoken introduction: “Hello everyone. I’ve always wanted to get online and talk to you about a few things. Although my team urged me not to say what I wanted to say, I recently realized that they never said I couldn’t sing what I wanted to say.”

While apology videos are like sand on the sea culture where creators with online fandoms it often was accused of abuse, this one stood out – not only for its willful dismissal of serious allegations and avowed disregard for the obvious advice of her own team, but also for how harrowing it is to address those allegations through a cheesy song. The video caught the attention of the entire internet beyond Ballinger’s own fan base, inspiring both longtime fans and skeptical viewers to share the video on social media. The 10-minute video garnered over 3 million views in one day.

In the end, the video took the controversy to a new level of notoriety, but there’s a lot behind Ballinger’s reaction to the allegations and the larger controversy itself. No matter how familiar you are with Ballinger and her character Miranda Sings, we’re here to explain all that’s behind the controversy that’s been fueling the internet.

Who is Colleen Ballinger and her character Miranda Sings?

Colleen Ballinger is an American actress and comedian who started with, and is perhaps best known for, her YouTube channel Miranda sings. In her videos, she plays a character called Miranda Sings, a satirical portrayal of young women hoping to find fame through YouTube. In addition to various points based on the character, in which she tends towards irreverent humor and tells lots of fart jokes, she is also known for singing inappropriate covers of songs.

Ballinger’s channel really took off in the late 2000s and early 2010s. At the time of publication, her Vlog channel and Miranda Sings channel combined had over 13 million subscribers, with her most popular videos racking up a whopping 56 million views. Over time, her fame and influence grew beyond YouTube. She appeared on the Nickelodeon show victorious in 2012 and published a New York Times bestselling book entitled self help. She later played the character of Miranda Sings on a Netflix show called ” Haters retreatwhich ran for two seasons starting in 2016.

Ballinger’s sphere of influence is undoubtedly wide, but given her ties to the early days of YouTube and her more recent work on TikTok, she’s probably more of a household name among younger millennials and Gen Z.

What are Colleen Ballinger’s allegations?

Allegations against Colleen Ballinger were first made by Adam McIntyre in April 2020 when He shared a video in which he claimed Ballinger used her fame to take advantage of him and get him to work for her for free. After the video was released, McIntyre said Ballinger’s fans harassed and tortured him for speaking out. There weren’t many other developments until two weeks ago. At the time, another member of Ballinger’s fanbase named KodeeRants posted a now-deleted video confirming the existence of a group chat called “Colleeny’s Weenies” in which allegedly inappropriate messages were exchanged between Ballinger and a small group of her fans. Following KodeeRants’ video, several fans took to social media to share their experiences with Ballinger and her close circle. In addition to allegations of wrongdoing on the part of Colleen Ballinger, these reports also included stories about her best friend, Kory Desoto; her ex-husband Joshua David Evans; and her brother Trent Ballinger.

Image: Adam McIntyre/YouTube

The most recent wave of allegations was documented and described in one Rolling Stone report, published June 21. The report states that Ballinger “has been accused of abusing her power and engaging in toxic parasocial relationships with fans,” and then details specific accounts of wrongdoing. A reported example was a group chat with McIntyre where Ballinger appeared to ask questions such as “Are you a virgin?” and “What’s your favorite position?” The report also described a fan named Johnny Silvestri who became an assistant on tour; Silvestri told Rolling Stone that Ballinger and Desoto created a toxic work environment that “thrived on parasocial and deeply one-sided relationships between Ballinger and fans.”

A theme throughout the report is the description of an ongoing dynamic in which young people looked up to Ballinger and trusted him, and according to Rolling Stone, felt that trust had been betrayed. While some reactions to the coverage labeled the behavior as “grooming,” it’s important to note that the Rolling Stone article, which spoke to several fans, doesn’t use that term, instead emphasizing a generally toxic environment that is reportedly present prevailed throughout fandom. A source told Rolling Stone that the current allegations are “not criminal” but rather point to the powerful emotional impact figures like Ballinger can have on young fans.

What is the evidence against Colleen Ballinger?

Most of the documented evidence was presented and reviewed in a Rolling Stone report published in June. This report describes screenshots of conversations between Ballinger and her fans, which those who spoke to Rolling Stone believe contain sexually inappropriate messages from Colleen Ballinger. These conversations took place in a Twitter group chat, as well as other direct message sources shared between fans and Ballinger’s friends and family. The credibility of the report mainly lies in the screenshots verified by Rolling Stone and the existence of these group chats, which has been confirmed by multiple sources.

What is Colleen Ballinger’s ukulele apology song?

In response to the new wave of allegations, Ballinger initially responded by withdrawing from social media. However, on Wednesday, the creator responded to this allegations in a video on her vlog channel entitled “Hi”. In this video, Ballinger addressed the controversy by singing and playing the ukulele. She appeared to deny the allegations while singing: “A lot of people say things about me that aren’t entirely true. It doesn’t matter if it’s true, as long as it’s entertaining.” The video contains some stunning moments, including when she says, “I just wanted to say that the only things I’ve ever cared for are my two Persian cats .” I am not a groomer. Just a loser.”

The song has inspired a wave by memes and parodies in which people make fun of the deaf and creepy nature of the video. Even McIntyre himself responded with his own song, strumming a ukulele at random and responding line by line to Ballinger’s song. And now, Ballinger’s decision to share the video seems confusing long term fans while sharing their feelings on-line.