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Colleen Ballinger Apologizes for Past Controversies and Defends Herself Against Grooming Accusations

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1 year ago

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  • YouTuber Colleen Ballinger, more widely known as Miranda Sings, apologized for a racist caricature, fat-shaming, and other “insensitive” remarks she made in previous videos.
  • Ballinger also defended herself against claims of child grooming, which came after 17-year-old Adam Mcintyre, a former fan, posted a video accusing her manipulating him.
  • Mcintyre also revealed that Ballinger sent him an unused set of women’s lingerie when he was thirteen.
  • Ballinger gave more context about the lingerie situation and apologized for mistakes she said she made when communicating with him.

Adam Mcintyre Posts Video

YouTuber Colleen Ballinger has now addressed multiple accusations that she’s faced in recent weeks, including claims of grooming, racism, fat-shaming, and joking about getting her dog put down when she was a child.

Much of the criticism against Ballinger, who is known for her off-color and quirky Miranda Sings character, stemmed from a video posted two weeks ago by 17-year-old Adam Mcintyre.

In that video, titled “colleen ballinger, stop lying,” Mcintyre said he used to be a huge fan of Ballinger, so much so that he ran fan accounts on Instagram and Twitter. According to Mcintyre, the two first met at one of Ballinger’s live shows in 2016. At the time, Mcintyre was 13-years-old. Later, in 2018, Mcintyre said they met again at another show.

Between this time, Mcintyre says the two became good friends and would often talk over social media; however, Mcinytre also said that during that time, Ballinger started to tell him private details about her divorce from Joshua Evans in 2016.

Mcintyre said while his parents were originally supportive that Ballinger was interacting with their son because he was such a huge fan, they started to become cautious, wondering why Ballinger, who was 30 at the time, was sharing such private information with a minor. 

After that, Mcintyre said his relationship with Ballinger turned into one where he was asked to look at drama channels and find out what they were saying about her, Evans, her ex-friends, and her fans.

“At the time, I saw this as harmless, and I was just really excited that my favorite person in the entire world wanted to talk to me,” Mcintyre said. “Now, looking back though, I can see it was just a way of baiting me to constantly get me to get her the information.” 

Mcintyre said because of this, his name began being inserted into those situations and he ultimately faced cyberbullying because of it. His parents then encouraged him to distance himself from Ballinger. He said he did several times but would always get sucked back in because Ballinger would send him a “nice” message.

“I tried not to be upset with myself because I was thirteen to fifteen during this time,” he said. “I’m still really young now. I’m only seventeen, but looking back, it’s hard to not get… like ugh! ‘Fix yourself! You know, stop engaging in that. You’re being used.’” 

Ballinger Sends Mcintyre an Unused Bra in 2016

One the most concerning claims that Mcintyre made was that Ballinger sent him a pair of women’s lingerie in 2016. 

The incident began with a livestream where Ballinger and her friend, Kory DeSoto, were showing off “ugly clothes” they bought at Forever 21. DeSoto put that underwear on over his clothes as a joke. They promised to send them to fans, but one of those fans ended up being Mcintyre.

“Adam, let me know what you want,” Ballinger says in the video, “He’s in Ireland. Hi, Adam. I love you. Okay, I’m sending him something. Okay, maybe he’ll want the panties. Although, then his parents will be like, ‘You’re not allowed to watch—who was sending you panties?’ ‘Mom, don’t worry! I watched a boy wear them online first!’”

According to Mcintyre, even though Ballinger was joking about his parents being mad, they were furious. Mcintyre said they took the underwear right away. 

Apparently, however, his parents kept the lingerie. In his video, Mcintyre said he asked his mother to find them, and she later did. In the video, he then shows them as proof that Ballinger actually sent him the underwear. 

Mcintyre Posts “Queerbait” on Miranda Sings Twitter

According to Mcintyre, after the underwear incident, he helped give her ideas from 2017 to 2018. That was partially because he said Ballinger was looking for a way to reinvigorate the character.

“She was aware that the Miranda character had passed its time and that she didn’t really enjoy doing it anymore because she couldn’t really be problematic as the character anymore,” he said.

“So in December 2017, I proper started giving tweets for the Miranda account. This included tweets on iCarly, Brazil, and a number of other things.” 

After that, he stopped for a while but said he started giving more ideas on March 25 of this year. According to Mcintyre, Ballinger then started tweeting some of his ideas. 

With that, Mcintyre said he pitched about 15 different tweet ideas, one of those including a tweet where Miranda Sings would “come out” as a Meghan Trainor fan. 

Mcintyre said Ballinger was initially confused about the tweet, saying that she wasn’t sure what he was trying to say about Meghan. Showing a screenshot of their alleged conversation, he said he then explained the joke and she gave him the greenlight, sending him her login info for the Miranda Sings Twitter account and saying that she trusted him.

Showing another screenshot, Mcintyre claims that Ballinger said she was considering him her social media intern and that she was thinking about formally hiring him if the internship went well. In the alleged screenshot, Ballinger also said she didn’t want to take advantage of his help, which is why she said she wanted to pay him.

After that, Mcintyre posted the tweet.

Ballinger Accused of Queerbaiting

Shortly after that tweet went live, many fans and others on social media accused Ballinger of “queerbaiting,” essentially accusing her of making light of how difficult it can be for so many LGBTQ+ people to come out.

“This is one of the main reasons it’s so hard to do Miranda now,” Ballinger reportedly told Mcintyre, according to the alleged screenshots. “People have a hard time understanding satire and jokes especially with sensitive topics.”

“Even though you have the password now,” she allegedly added, “I need to approve everything you post before you post it just to avoid problems.”

According to those alleged screenshots, Ballinger also went on to say that she wasn’t mad, just paranoid because “everyone always gets mad at me and I always have to apologize.”

Afterward, Ballinger deleted the Trainor tweet, allegedly privately telling Mcintyre that it wasn’t his fault and that she was “just too sensitive.”

Later, Ballinger reportedly messaged him again, saying she felt overwhelmed by all the backlash she was getting for that tweet and that she didn’t know what to do. Mcintyre then said Ballinger told him about how she apologized to one person.

“The thing is, I agree with them,” Ballinger allegedly told him. “Queerbaiting is not a joke. I’m super sad I’ve upset so many people.”

Regarding messages like that, Mcintyre has affirmed that Ballinger was trying to guilt him and “make me feel bad for something she had already approved and found funny. And she didn’t seem to see any problems with it.”

In later messages, Ballinger continues to tell him how bad she feels, though Mcintyre makes the point of saying she never asked him about how he felt.

Mcintyre then sent her one last message saying that the situation would die down and that “twitter drama stays on twitter,” but from here, she didn’t respond.

Old Videos Resurface

Now, following Mcintyre’s video, the backlash against Ballinger began to stack. Because of a lot of the claims he made in that video, many people on social media called her a child groomer.


Others dug up old videos of her, one from 14 years ago where she and her sister pretended to be two Latina women. In that video, it appears that the women darkened their skin and drew on exaggerated eyebrows.

Also in it, they sing about crossing the border, working at Del Taco, and making burritos.

In a separate video posted twelve years ago, people accused her of fat-shaming because of how she talks about an overweight woman who sat next to her on a plane.

“So then they’re about to close the doors and who walks on: an extremely obese Asian woman with facial hair,” Ballinger said in the video, “and she walks on and I’m like, ‘Please don’t sit next to me. Please don’t sit next to me.’ And then I turn around, and of course, there are no open seats on the plane, so of course, she comes and sits right next to me. And on me. Her fat rolls are like rolling over onto me.”

In another clip, Ballinger told a story about how when she was three, she dug her nails into the family dog. It yelped and then bit her on the face. Ultimately, that dog was then put down. After telling that story, Ballinger joked about how she “murdered” the family dog. 

Colleen Ballinger Addresses Accusations and Apologizes 

While Ballinger also faced additional criticism for other actions she’s posted in videos, on Tuesday, she posted a video titled, “addressing everything.”

In it, she apologized for and attempted to explain these four different sets of accusations.

Regarding the video where she pretends to be a Latina woman, she says, “The characters are completely based on racial stereotypes. It is not funny, and it is completely hurtful. I am so ashamed and embarrassed that I ever thought that this was okay. I was a sheltered teenager, who was stupid and ignorant and clearly, extremely culturally insensitive. Racial stereotypes are not funny. They are not a joke, and they should never be joked about.” 

With that, Ballinger then went on to add that she deleted the video from her channel a few years after it was posted.

Following that apology, she apologized for fat-shaming that woman on the plane.

“And I watched this clip, and I was shocked and I was appalled that those things were coming out of my mouth twelve years ago, because that is not the woman who I am today,” she said. 

Ballinger also explained that she’s a “huge” advocate for body positivity now.

After that, she clarified her comments about the incident with her family dog, saying that a doctor told the family that legally, the dog needed to be put down. According to Ballinger, this very much upset her at the time, even though the video in question showed her being insensitive.

“Over the years, I have addressed this in videos a few times talking about how guilty I feel, how upset I am that this happened,” she said. “Still, to this day, I feel guilty as a 33-year-old woman that our dog had to be put down for biting me.”

However, the meat of this video was focused on addressing Mcintyre’s video and the backlash she’s seen because of it.

As to why she didn’t address it sooner, she said Mcintyre’s mother reached out to her, asking her not to speak his name, but now, she said it’s gotten to a point where she felt she needed to tell her side of the story.

With that, she talks about the “context” of why she sent Mcintyre women’s underwear when he was 13-years-old.

“In this livestream, I did a giveaway,” she said. “I was giving away clothes that were unused, tags still on, brand new, that I did not want. One of the items that was in this box was a really ugly pair of underwear. As soon as we pulled them out, Kory and I started laughing and joking around about how ugly they were. ‘Why did I buy these ridiculous underwear? It was so stupid.’” 

She also noted that people started asking for them, including Mcintyre. In fact, that original video does appear to back up her claim.

After that livestream, Ballinger said she forgot to send the lingerie to Mcintyre, but he asked again over Twitter. This time, she sent it to him.

And while she noted that she’s always given away weird and random items, she said she does now realize how inappropriate the whole situation was.

“And so in my mind at the time,” Ballinger said, “this was no different than all the other weird stuff I send to my fans as a joke. Now, in hindsight, I see how completely stupid of me—I should have never sent that. I don’t know what part of my mind was missing at the time that I thought, ‘Oh, this is a normal silly thing to do.’” 

“But it was never a sneaky, creepy gross thing that I was doing in secret,” she added. “It was a silly, stupid mistake that now is being blow way out of proportion.” 

Ballinger also said that she always believed Mcintyre’s mother was always very supportive about her interactions with Mcintyre and that if she had known his mother was uncomfortable with the situation, that she would have cut off contact. 

After that, Ballinger then went on to clarify her relationship with Mcintyre and why she allowed him to tweet for her, noting that she has, for years, publicly asked fans for advice on what to tweet. 

She said, several years ago, she used some of Mcintyre’s tweets a few years back. She said after that, Mcintyre asked her multiple times if he could come up with ideas for posts, but she said didn’t engage in those conversations until recently when he sent her a folder full of ideas.

She then gave him what she described as a “test-run,” saying that if it went well, she wanted to hire him. Notably, she confirmed that he posted the Meghan Trainor tweet but admitted she failed to look over those ideas closely enough. 

“And when he posted it,” she said. “I put zero blame on him at all. This was my fault. I knew better than to let someone else tweet for me. I should have reviewed closely every single thing that was going to come out of Miranda’s mouth. I let him know that I loved him, he did a great job. It was my fault, not his.” 

Ballinger then ends her video by saying she still doesn’t blame Mcintyre, that she wishes him success, and that she hopes everyone can move on from the situation.

“No, I should have never sent a fan underwear,” she admitted. “How stupid am I? No, I definitely should have never given him access to my twitter account. And no, I should not have talked to him as often as I did. But I am not a monster. I am not a groomer, and I shouldn’t kill myself.”

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Affidavit Outlines Alleged Events That Lead Up to Fatal Shooting on “Rust” Set

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5 hours ago

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October 25, 2021

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Before the tragic incident that resulted in the death of the film’s cinematographer, actor Alec Baldwin was allegedly assured that the gun he was handed on set was not loaded.

Details of Events Leading Up to Shooting

An affidavit alleges that actor Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene that involved him pointing a gun at the camera when he misfired the weapon last week, killing the production’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, and injuring director Joel Souza. 

Multiple outlets obtained the affidavit from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday. The document details the alleged events that resulted in Thursday’s tragedy on the set of “Rust.” Souza told investigators that during a firearms safety announcement, he heard the prop weapon referred to as a “cold gun,” a term that means the gun is not loaded.

According to Souza, the guns on set were usually checked by two people: armorer Hannah Guttierrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls. Halls was in charge of giving the guns to actors, though sources said both Guttierrez-Reed and Halls did so at various times.

The affidavit said that Halls handed the gun to Baldwin while announcing it as a “cold gun.” Investigators say investigators that Halls got the revolver from a tray set up by Gutierrez-Reed.

Souza said the crew had spent part of the day preparing for a scene in a church and later left to take a lunch break at another location. He said he was unsure if the firearm had been checked again after returning from lunch. 

When the accident happened. Souza said he heard what “sounded like a whip and then loud pop.” He first noticed Hutchins grabbing her midsection and stumbling back before realizing he had been hit in the shoulder. 

The incident came after six camera crew workers reportedly walked off the set in protest of unfair and unsafe working conditions. According to the affidavit, a replacement crew had quickly been hired, but production on the day of the accident was off to a late start because of related issues. Regarding general on-set behavior, Souza claimed that “everyone was getting along” and that there had been “no altercations” to his knowledge.

The affidavit’s walkout claim backed up previous reporting from The Los Angeles Times. Sources from the set of “Rust” told the outlet on Friday that half a dozen workers left the set because they were frustrated by safety issues, long hours, long commutes, and a long wait for their paychecks. 

Safety Issues on Set of “Rust”

According to the report, standard industry safety protocols “were not strictly followed,” and at least one worker complained specifically about gun safety. Some sources told The Times that there had already been at least two accidental discharges of a prop gun. Around a week before the fatal accident, Baldwin’s stunt double allegedly fired two rounds after being told a gun was cold. 

“There should have been an investigation into what happened,” one source told the outlet.  “There were no safety meetings. There was no assurance that it wouldn’t happen again. All they wanted to do was rush, rush, rush.”

Another source told The Times that “corners were being cut” on set. 

The report also claimed that Hutchins was among those advocating for her team to have safer work conditions. 

Rust Movie Productions released a statement saying safety “is the top priority of Rust Productions and everyone associated with the company.” 

“Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down,” the statement continued. 

Baldwin, for his part, sent his condolences to Hutchins’ family on Friday. At the time, he said he was cooperating with the ongoing investigation. 

Vigils have been held in New Mexico and Hollywood to honor Hutchins. The American Film Institute also made a memorial scholarship in her name.

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Ruby Rose Details Abusive and Unsafe Work Conditions on Set of “Batwoman” Series

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5 days ago

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October 20, 2021

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Rose said she and other crew members were seriously injured while filming, but executives insisted that production continue.

Ruby Rose Details Injuries During “Batwoman” Production

Actor Ruby Rose alleged in Instagram Story posts Wednesday that she and other crew members on the set of CW’s “Batwoman” series were seriously injured and subjected to abusive treatment during production.

Rose, who uses she/they pronouns, exited the series in 2020 but did not give explicit details as to why at the time. Now, they are accusing showrunner Caroline Dries, producers Sarah Schechter and Greg Berlanti, and former WBTV executive Peter Roth of fostering a toxic and dangerous work environment.

The original star of “Batwoman” tagged Dries, Schechter, and Berlanti in her Story posts, writing “enough is enough.”

“I’m going to tell the whole world what really happened on that set,” Rose continued. “I will come for you so what happened to me never happens to another person again. And so I can finally take back my life and the truth. Shame on you.”

Rose shared a video of a doctor detailing rib injuries she received on set. She claimed she had enough footage to make an hour-long documentary about these injuries, which allegedly also included a “broken neck,” a “rib split in two” and a “tumor.” In a later post, Rose wrote that in another instance she “got cut in the face so close to my eye in a stunt I could have been blind.”

Rose also shared footage of a surgery they underwent, claiming they had to return to set just 10 days after the operation otherwise “the whole crew and cast would be fired.”

Rose Claims Executives Fostered Dangerous Workplace

“Please to my dear, dear fans stop asking if I will return to that awful show,” Rose continued. “I wouldn’t return for any amount of money nor if a gun were to my head…NOR DID I QUIT. They ruined Kate Kane and they destroyed batwoman, not me.”

Rose added that they were not the only one who sustained traumatic injuries during filming. Rose claimed that the series “lost two stunt doubles” and that one crew member received severe third-degree burns all over his body while the cast and crew watched.

“We were given no therapy after witnessing his skin fall off his face,” Rose wrote. 

Rose even wrote that a woman “was left quadriplegic” during an accident but executives tried “to blame it on her being on her phone.”

“She’s a PA, they work via phones,” Rose continued. “Her accident occurred because our show refused to shut down when everyone else did because of Covid.”

Rose’s allegations regarding mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic continued from there. She wrote that Dries only visited the show’s set four times a year, but still insisted that production continue as COVID posed a threat. Rose said “Batwoman” continued running while other sets, including those of CW productions, were shutting down. 

“[Dries] has no heart and wanted us to finish the season throughout the pandemic and I told her it was a bad idea,” Rose wrote. “I told her everyone was too distracted, constantly checking Covid updates checking on friends.”

Rose claims that when production did finally halt, it was not because a production assistant had been severely injured but because “the government pulled it.”

Separately, Rose accused Roth of having young women steam the crotch area of his pants while he was wearing them. She also alleged that Roth sent a private investigator after her and that Dries encouraged her to comply with him. 

Rose admitted that they “fought people” on set, but claimed they only did so to advocate for safety. Rose said they never raised their voice, unlike fellow actor Dougray Scott, who they accused of going on abusive tirades.  

“Dougray hurt a female stunt double,” Rose claimed. “He yelled like a little bitch at women and was a nightmare. He left when he wanted and arrived when he wanted he abused women and in turn as a lead of a show I sent an email out asking for a no yelling policy, they declined.”

WBTV responded to the allegations Wednesday. The network gave a statement to Deadline accusing Rose of sharing a “revisionist history” that implicates “producers, the cast and crew, the network, and the Studio.”

“The truth is that Warner Bros. Television had decided not to exercise its option to engage Ruby for season two of Batwoman based on multiple complaints about workplace behavior that were extensively reviewed and handled privately out of respect for all concerned,” the statement continued.

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Netflix Reinstates Employee Who Crashed Director-Level Meeting After Criticizing Dave Chapelle

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2 weeks ago

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October 13, 2021

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Terra Field had publicly accused Chappelle of making transphobic remarks in his new stand-up special “The Closer” just days before she was suspended.

Netflix Reinstates Terra Field

Netflix reinstated a transgender employee who was critical of Dave Chappelle’s new stand-up special after suspending her for attending a director-level meeting without an invitation. 

Terra Field tweeted on Tuesday that she was reinstated once the company determined “there was no ill-intent in” her decision to attend the meeting.

“I’m going to take a few days off to decompress and try to figure out where I’m at,” she added. “At the very least, I feel vindicated.”

Field also shared an email Netflix sent her regarding her suspension being lifted. 

“Our investigation did not find that you joined the QBR meeting with any ill intent and that you genuinely didn’t think there was anything wrong with seeking access to this meeting,” the email said. “Additionally, when a Director shared the link it further supported that this was a meeting you could attend.”

Field’s suspension came just days after she tweeted a viral thread criticizing Chappelle’s latest program on Netflix, “The Closer.” She was one of many activists who claimed Chappelle’s set was transphobic and encouraged Netflix to take action. Field wrote that his comments attacked “the very validity of transness.” Netflix insisted those tweets had nothing to do with her suspension. 

Field reportedly attended the director-level meeting with two other employees who were also suspended. A spokesperson for Netflix told Deadline that those two staffers have likewise been reinstated and the company “will be distributing broader guidance about meetings and clarifying which are for which people.”

Netflix’s Response to Dave Chappelle Controversy

Netflix, for its part, has defended Chappelle and rejected calls to remove “The Closer” from the streaming service.

“It never feels good when people are hurting, especially our colleagues,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Srandos wrote in an internal memo. “You should also be aware that some talent may join third parties in asking us to remove the show in the coming days, which we are not going to do.”

“We don’t allow titles on Netflix that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe The Closer crosses that line,” he added. “I recognize, however, that distinguishing between commentary and harm is hard, especially with stand-up comedy which exists to push boundaries. Some people find the art of stand-up to be mean spirited but our members enjoy it, and it’s an important part of our content offering.”

Among other things, Chappelle took time in his special to defend author J.K. Rowling, who previously faced backlash over a series of transphobic remarks she made. Chappelle said he agreed with Rowling.

“I’m team TERF,” he added. “I agree. I agree, man. Gender is a fact.”

Chappelle went on to make jokes about Caitlyn Jenner before comparing the genitalia of transgender women to Beyond and Impossible meat.

Many employees at Netflix are still frustrated with the way the platform has handled the controversy surrounding “The Closer.” According to The Verge, a trans employee resource group is planning a walkout on Oct. 20.

“Trans Lives Matter. Trans Rights Matter,” the group said in a memo. “And as an organization, Netflix has continually failed to show deep care in our mission to Entertain the World by repeatedly releasing content that harms the Trans community and continually failing to create content that represents and uplifts Trans content. We can and must do better!”

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