Colleen Ballinger Breaks Silence After Being Accused Of Grooming And Pedophilia

Social media personality Colleen Ballinger, 36, has finally broken her silence after being accused of "grooming" and "pedophilia" by social media users. This month, the YouTuber came under fire for reportedly sending inappropriate messages to minors. She also sent a former fan, Adam McIntyre, lingerie when he was only 13.

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The allegations against Ballinger deepened when a girl named Becky revealed that her body was used for "entertainment" by Ballinger when she was only a minor. Years ago, Becky attended the Miranda Sings show and was called on stage for a "yoga" bit. Ballinger had Becky lie on her back as the comedian grabbed her ankles to spread her legs. "Colleen exploited my minor body for entertainment and money and did not protect my safety at this show," Becky said in her video, adding, "But this was really pretty scary for my teenage self and especially [as] someone who loved and looked up to Colleen. And I could never say anything because everybody loved her. But this is who she really is. She uses kids for her own gain."

Today, Ballinger addressed the allegations in a 10-minute YouTube video while singing and playing the ukulele. And yes, she sings the entire video, because her team has "strongly advised" her not to say the things she wanted to talk about, but they didn't convey that she's not allowed to sing it. Luckily, I'm here to give you a summary so that you don't have to listen to the whole thing.

Through song lyrics, Ballinger explains that she had to take a break because people were saying things that weren't "quite true." She sings about how people are riding the "toxic gossip train" down the "tracks of information" with a "one-way ticket to manipulation station" – I seriously cannot make this up.

Ballinger admits that she did indeed used to message her fans but "not in a creepy way" like what people are suggesting. "It was more of a loser kind of way," she says. "But I was just trying to be besties with everybody. It's kind of like when you go to a family gathering, and there's a weird aunt there, she keeps coming up to you and going, 'Hey girl, what's the tea?' That was me, writing group chats with my fans."

The media personality says she'd been sharing her life online for over 15 years and feels she's speaking with her friends. She confesses that she didn't understand that boundaries should have been made, but it's been years since she's done this because she "changed" her behavior and "took accountability." Then she goes back to singing about the toxic gossip train. "In all seriousness, I do think it's really important to hold people accountable for their mistakes. You know, we should hope that everyone can learn from their mistakes and grow and change their behavior and be a better person," she adds.

She then claims that the audience's goal is to "ruin the life of the person" they despise while dramatizing lies and monetizing their demise. "I feel like I can already hear the comments on this video," Ballinger sings. "'She's gaslighting, manipulating, oh, she's a narcissist and a rat. I would never make a mistake like that.' Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that all of you are perfect. So please criticize me, bring out the daggers made from your perfect past, and stab me repeatedly in my bony little back. I'm sure you're disappointed in my sh*tty little song."

The YouTuber continues, "I know you wanted me to say that I was 100 % in the wrong. Well, I'm sorry, I'm not gonna take that route of admitting to lies and rumors that you made up for clout." Ballinger also mentions that her Miranda Sings content is supposedly PG-13, later adding, "I didn't realize it was my responsibility to decide what was appropriate for every kid to see."

Ballinger states it hasn't been easy dealing with the accusations. She clarifies that she's never groomed anyone – except her two Persian cats. She denies being a predator. "I'm just a loser who didn't understand I shouldn't respond to fans, and I'm not a predator, even though a lot of you think so because five years ago I made a fart joke," she sings. No, Ballinger, it wasn't because of a silly little fart joke. People claimed you were a predator because of the weird things you did on stage, like "jokingly" telling a little girl that she smelled "fertile."

The singer appreciates those who have supported her but admits that she feels like "sh*t." "Rumors look like facts when you don't mind the gaps. I won't survive in the crash, but hey, I hope you had some fun. Actually, you know, I feel like maybe I should let you guys know something. It seems like maybe you're confused about something. I don't know."

"Let me try to help. Sometimes people can make a mistake, and you can kindly let them know and help them to grow. Sometimes people make mistakes simply because they made a mistake. And that mistake doesn't make them a terrible human. It just makes them a human. What do I know? F*ck me, right?" she concludes.

Where do I begin? If Ballinger really wanted to take accountability for her actions as she sang, then she'd properly apologize. She wouldn't try to make excuses for herself. She'd reach out to her former fans who felt wronged by her, and she'd tell them personally that she's sorry (though I'm not sure if she's done this yet). A sincere apology involves acknowledging the harm caused and accepting responsibility for her actions. Instead, it seems like Ballinger is trying to shift the responsibility onto "the mob."

Is it possible the accusations went far? Sure, maybe, but if she could at least take a step back and understand why people reacted the way they did, Ballinger would have thought twice about her message. In my opinion, the YouTuber's history with minors was already bad enough, but this video just made everything worse. I'm unsure if Ballinger will ever be able to build trust with her audience again. After 15 years, this may finally be the end of Miranda Sings.

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