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Colleen Ballinger skyrocketed to fame within the late 2000s by means of her alter ego Miranda Sings, who would confidently and badly sing in style songs with lipstick smeared above her prime lip. She was capable of foray this right into a Netflix particular and present, and he or she was profitable for over a decade — till allegations got here out that she’d put underage followers in exploitative positions and engaged with them in inappropriate methods.Manufacturers started to drag adverts from Ballinger’s initiatives as public backlash elevated, however the nail within the coffin for Ballinger was her “apology” video. Within the video, she determined to sing in regards to the allegations whereas taking part in a ukelele, saying, “Regardless that my workforce has strongly suggested me to not say what I wish to say, I not too long ago realized that they by no means stated that I could not sing what I wish to say, so…” Ballinger was broadly mocked, and has not posted on her official YouTube channel in two years, although she continues to submit on her vlog account. Nonetheless, her status by no means actually recovered.2.
Within the mid-to-late 2010s, Ruby Franke ran the favored household vlog 8 Passengers, the place she showcased content material along with her husband and 6 children. A few of her parenting (particularly self-discipline) strategies, together with withholding meals and making a baby sleep on a bean bag for months, started to obtain backlash in 2020, resulting in her YouTube web page turning into much less and fewer in style. It was later deleted, and Franke started to make different content material with counselor and enterprise accomplice Jodi Hildebrandt.This profession flip might have been profitable, however the subsequent yr, each Franke and Hildebrandt had been arrested on baby abuse costs after one in all Franke’s kids escaped Hildebrandt’s home from a window and requested a neighbor for meals and water, showing malnourished and injured. Each pled responsible to 4 counts of aggravated baby abuse and had been sentenced to as much as 30 years in jail. Franke has clearly not made content material since.3.
Myka and James Stauffer had been in style household vloggers who persistently posted about parenting their 4 kids on YouTube. Then, in 2017, the mother and father adopted then-2-year-old Huxley from China. They documented the difficulties of this course of, in addition to Huxley being recognized with autism post-adoption. Then, in 2020, Huxley started to vanish from their movies. They then posted a protracted video saying he had been “rehomed.”The backlash was robust and swift, with a number of manufacturers slicing ties with the Stauffers. They deleted their YouTube Channel, and Myka has not posted on Instagram since her apology. James at the moment runs a automobile detailing account.4.
Ali Abulaban (@jinnkid) grew well-known by means of comedy movies on TikTok, which typically concerned his accomplice, Ana, who later discovered web fame of her personal. Rising jealous and possessive, Ali started to abuse Ana, even livestreaming a few of his verbal abuse. He murdered her and her good friend, Rayburn Barron, in October 2021 and was later discovered responsible of their murders and sentenced to life in jail.5.
Ladarius Morshun Brownlee, one half of TikTok couple @denoandzahra, gained fame for his movies with then-girlfriend Seyeddah “Zahra” Hashemi. However final yr, witnesses claimed Brownlee and Hashemi bought into an argument that turned bodily, resulting in Zahra being shot. Brownlee, in response to authorities, allegedly confessed to having shot her on a 911 name and with detectives. He was arrested, whereas Hashemi survived however, in response to her sister, suffered a traumatic mind harm.Brownlee later pleaded responsible to costs, together with his lawyer claiming the gun by accident discharged. He was sentenced to 10 years’ probation. The couple apparently stays collectively, however they haven’t posted since final Could.6.
Whereas YouTuber Jaystation’s content material had at all times been controversial (normally involving him coming into areas after hours and attempting to get out with out triggering alarms), he reached a brand new low when he was accused of faking the demise of his girlfriend, Alexia Marano.Jaystation (actual identify: Jason Ethier) posted a number of movies about her “demise,” together with one the place he tried to contact her utilizing an Ouija board. Then he admitted the entire thing was a lie, claiming Marano was in on it however that she’d since left him. Marano then spoke out and stated she hadn’t needed to undergo with it, however that she was afraid of Ethier, whom she known as controlling. Ethier claimed Marano was attempting to wreck his life with false accusations about an assault weapon. Ethier’s profession took a large hit, and his YouTube accounts had been later suspended, which marked the top of his YouTube profession.7.
Jeffree Star is maybe one of the crucial notorious examples, each due to how far he fell and due to the sheer variety of controversies. After initially rising to notoriety by means of MySpace and music, Star launched a make-up model and YouTube channel, incomes him extra widespread fame. However within the mid-to-late 2010s, Star started to face backlash as followers and ex-friends recalled situations of racism. This in the end led to Morphe dropping ties with him.Star apologized in 2017, however in 2020, he was accused of sexual assault, bodily assault, abuse, and payouts to accusers (his legal professional denied all allegations). Within the wake of those controversies, together with a public feud with James Charles, he misplaced lots of of hundreds of followers, and his model suffered.He later made anti-nonbinary remarks about “they/them” pronouns being “silly” and “bullshit,” although he stated he was not anti-trans. Immediately, he’s nonetheless discovering success however has been hindered by the quantity of backlash and is a wildly controversial determine.8.
Magnificence guru and YouTuber James Charles’ profession was riddled with controversy from the start, however issues actually took a flip when fellow YouTuber Tati Westbrook posted the video “Bye, Sister” in 2019, detailing the breakdown of her friendship with Charles. She additionally accused him of being sexually manipulative, which Charles denied in a response video. That very same month, mannequin Gage Gomez accused Charles of pressuring him into sexual conditions. Charles responded on Twitter and stated something that had gone down between the 2 was consensual and that they’d been speaking for a lot of months prior.Issues had been shaky for Charles for the following few years, although Westbrook stated she had been manipulated into making her preliminary “Bye, Sister” video towards Charles by Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson (additionally, by the way, on this record). Then, in 2021, Charles was additionally accused of grooming an underage boy and sending specific images on Snapchat. Charles didn’t deny the messages between the 2 however did deny realizing the boy’s age was 16. Three extra boys got here ahead claiming inappropriate conduct from Charles, and Charles was fired because the host of Immediate Influencer.Charles apologized to 2 victims and stated he was unaware of the facility dynamics at play whereas messaging them however denied different allegations. Morphe then minimize ties with Charles (although Charles’ workforce said they requested this), and YouTube quickly demonetized his movies. He misplaced as much as tens of millions, and his youthful brother stopped chatting with him. He tried a comeback, launching the make-up model Painted. He nonetheless usually posts YouTube movies, however they obtain vastly fewer views than previously. In 2021, he surpassed Jeffree Star as probably the most disliked magnificence YouTuber.9.
Shane Dawson was one of many first main YouTube stars again within the 2000s. After a decade of success, within the 2010s, a few of his previous movies started to resurface, with followers accusing him of racism and pointing to jokes he had made about pedophilia and animal abuse. He apologized in June 2020, however the injury was completed, particularly after he was accused of sexualizing Willow Smith as a minor. Goal pulled his books from circulation, and YouTube quickly demonetized Dawson’s movies.Dawson then took a protracted break from YouTube however returned in late 2021, although his movies had been much less profitable than that they had been beforehand. Dawson continues to be a controversial determine, partly as a result of his continued collaboration with Jeffree Star. His reputation is nowhere close to the place it was.10.
David Dobrik first grew to become well-known on Vine, transitioning to a profession on YouTube and later a profitable podcast. He and his associates got here to be often called “The Vlog Squad” — which made headlines when one member, Dom Zeglaitis, was accused of a rape that reportedly occurred throughout an evening shoot for a video with Dobrik. Zeglaitis was additionally accused of different sexually inappropriate conduct.One other Vlog Squad member, Seth Francois, stated he was tricked into kissing a fellow male group member whereas blindfolded. He later detailed the racist remedy he obtained as a part of the group. One other former member, Nick Keswani, stated he was repeatedly mocked within the group. Fellow influencer Trisha Paytas stated whereas she was courting group member Jason Nash, she was concerned in a prank the place Dobrik hid whereas she had intercourse with Nash after which filmed her bare, which she was unaware of. She stated she requested the video to not be posted, but it surely was.Dobrik posted a video apologizing to Francois and saying he’d taken a step again from Zeglaitis, and general saying he was “dissatisfied by a few of associates,” although many discovered his apology inadequate. A number of corporations then distanced themselves from Dobrik, and his subscribers and views on YouTube plummeted. Dobrik apologized once more, calling out his final apology video and particularly discussing the accusations towards Zeglaitis. He acknowledged “creating an unfair energy dynamic,” however the injury was completed.YouTube quickly demonetized Dobrik’s channel (and Zeglaitis’s), and Dobrik took a break from the platform. Nevertheless, he returned not lengthy after and once more discovered success. However then former Vlog Squadder Jeff Wittek posted a video describing an harm he obtained whereas filming a video for Dobrik and later sued him for negligence, reigniting controversy. The lawsuit seems to be ongoing.Dobrik didn’t submit on his YouTube channel for 2 years, however returned earlier this yr. His movies are nonetheless very fashionable, however his status is not what it was.11.
Swedish streamer and YouTuber PewDiePie grew to become wildly in style within the 2010s for his video-game-related content material and vlogging. He had made a number of controversial jokes, feedback, and movies over time, however the actual backlash started when he paid two folks to carry an indication saying, “Demise to all Jews.” PewDiePie apologized however known as accusations of anti-Semitism “unfair,” saying he was simply attempting to indicate folks “would say something for 5 {dollars}.” He later used the n-word in a livestream. His YouTube Purple present, Scare PewDiePie, was canceled, and Disney minimize ties with him. Google Most popular additionally minimize him from their promoting program.He later moved to Japan, the place he continues to submit movies. Nevertheless, he’s not fairly as profitable as he as soon as was, and he was surpassed as probably the most subscribed-to channel on YouTube.12.
Australian well being influencer Belle Gibson grew to become well-known on-line for her prognosis of terminal mind most cancers — which she’d by some means managed to outlive by means of entire meals and various therapies. She then created The Complete Pantry App and accompanying ebook and continued offering wellness content material, claiming she was donating a lot of the cash she made to charity. After folks started to doubt features of her story in 2015, she admitted she had lied about having most cancers. She was later fined 410,000 Australian {dollars} and has largely disappeared from the general public eye. Authorities are nonetheless attempting to get Gibson to pay the high quality.13.
TikToker @jorobe (actual identify: John Robert Bell) blew up on TikTok over his movies calling out different creators and selling a secure area for younger folks. Satirically, in 2021, Bell was accused of grooming by TikToker @dylg16, who claimed he had begun a friendship with Bell whereas underage. He stated Bell had requested him to get an Airbnb with him on his 18th birthday and likewise supplied to purchase him alcohol. He additionally claimed Bell had tried to alienate him from his associates and requested him, together with a bunch of different younger creators, to take a BDSM check. Bell didn’t reply publicly; as a substitute, he deactivated his TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.14.
Caroline Calloway first grew to become in style on Instagram within the 2010s, and because of this, she bought a ebook proposal she’d written along with her good friend Natalie Seashore. Nevertheless, when she didn’t submit a full manuscript, she made headlines and was ordered to pay again $100,000 to the writer. At first, it appeared her profession would possibly survive, but it surely all got here crashing down in 2019. First, she bought tickets to a “Creativity Workshop” that was met with backlash over its worth, with many evaluating it to Fyre Pageant.Later that yr, Natalie Seashore printed an essay with The Lower, exposing her poisonous relationship with Calloway, detailing her contributions as Calloway’s collaborator and ghostwriter, and claiming that Calloway had purchased followers. In a response, Calloway stated many of the issues she’d stated to Seashore had been lies and that she’d been a “shitty good friend.” She additionally admitted to purchasing followers. Nevertheless, she additionally stated that Seashore didn’t assist her grow to be well-known and solely assisted with “captions that nobody learn” and a ebook proposal “solely ebook editors noticed.”Calloway later embraced the accusations, publishing a ebook titled Scammer (Seashore additionally printed a ebook). This got here after she left New York and moved to Florida to deal with writing. She was capable of recuperate along with her ebook, which was well-received, and launched a second ebook final yr. Whereas she has made a comeback, her model is vastly totally different, and he or she nonetheless has her detractors.15.
Lastly, Logan Paul initially grew to become well-known on Vine earlier than transitioning to YouTube. His first important backlash got here in 2017 when he posted a video titled, “We discovered a lifeless physique within the Japanese Suicide Forest,” which accurately featured a corpse. The video garnered widespread backlash, and YouTube took Paul off its Google Most popular advert tier. Paul took a three-week break from YouTube after which apologized, donating $1 million to suicide prevention. Nevertheless, he quickly posted movies involving tasering lifeless rats and giving “CPR” to a koi fish, and YouTube pulled all adverts from his movies.He is since ventured right into a profession in wrestling and continued to create content material (adverts had been once more allowed on his movies), however he is nonetheless a broadly mocked and hated creator.
