Colleen Ballinger faces canceled live shows and podcast after inappropriate conduct accusations
Several of YouTube star Colleen Ballinger's live shows have apparently been canceled in the wake of accusations of inappropriate conduct with minors and other bad behavior online, and her podcast partner Trisha Paytas also said they would no longer work together, ending their podcast "Oversharing" after three episodes.
Ballinger, who started posting comedic videos online about 15 years ago under the character "Miranda Sings," posted an apology video last week after fans resurfaced allegations of past inappropriate relationships with minors, including accusations that she sent a pair of underwear to a teenager in 2016 and sexualized minors during her live shows.
The 36-year-old plays the ukulele in the apology video, which many fans criticized as insensitive. She said the rumors are just part of a "toxic gossip train," and while she admitted to making mistakes, she said her behavior has since changed.
Days later, a social media user resurfaced video taken five years ago that shows Ballinger dancing to Beyonce's "Single Ladies" in what appears to be blackface.
The video in question is still up on the YouTube page Ballinger created for her character Miranda Sings, an awkward tone-deaf singer with smudged red lipstick, which some have criticized as mocking people with disabilities.
Paytas, a fellow YouTuber, said she and Ballinger would no longer work on their new podcast "Oversharing" together. "Bottom line is I really do feel for the people involved. I had relationships like this when I was underage that truly traumatized me," she said in a YouTube video posted Saturday.
Paytas said the inappropriate relationships she experienced as a minor were not sexual. She said the accusations against Ballinger were "triggering" and said she was still in shock and "embarrassed" to have to end the podcast after just three episodes.
In recent years, Ballinger has pivoted to more vlog-style videos on her personal YouTube page, where she has more than 3 million subscribers. Her "Miranda Sings" YouTube channel is still popular – with 10.7 million subscribers – and she continues to perform as the character at live shows.
While tickets are still available for some show dates – which are scheduled between July and October – shows at some venues have been canceled or are no longer appearing on venues' calendars.
The Sheldon Concert Hall in Saint Louis posted that the "Miranda Sings" show scheduled for Aug. 10 had been canceled. The Aug. 12 event is no longer listed on the website for the Kiewit Concert Hall at Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Her scheduled performance Oct. 6 at Kitty Carlisle Hart Theater in Albany, New York, is no longer listed on the venue's site. And the Carolina Theater in Durham, North Carolina, is no longer listing her performance at Fletcher Hall, originally scheduled for Sept. 8. It was not clear if the cancellations were related to the accusations.
CBS News has reached out to a representative for Ballinger for comment and is awaiting response.
A man named Adam McIntyre, who accused Ballinger of sending him underwear, in an interview with the Huffington Post last month also accused her of saying inappropriate things to him online when he was a teen. He said Ballinger manipulated a group of teens she spoke to on a group chat and emotionally vented to them about her divorce. Ballinger addressed the underwear incident and other criticisms in 2020, but McIntyre and other TikTok users recently resurfaced the controversies.
Another TikTok user accused Ballinger of making her feel "sexually violated" when she called her up on stage during one of her live shows when she was 14 years old.
Caitlin O'KaneCaitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.
