Colleen Ballinger‘s lawyers have denied reports that she has been claiming copyright over a ukulele reaction song she composed in response to various claims from her Miranda Sings fan club about inappropriate relationships with her fans and grooming.
This week the track made its way on to the Apple Music platform but it has since been removed. The 10-minute song that contained the lyrics “I’m not a groomer, I’m just a loser”.
The 36-year-old musician performs under her own name and is also behind the parody character Miranda Sings – a deluded and poorly dressed but self-confident wannabe star. She cancelled her tour dates and her podcast Oversharing after the accusations surfaced. Ballinger had faced other allegations of similar behaviour in 2020.
Now legal representatives for the star have denied that she has issued any copyright infringement claims on videos featuring the song, adding “nor has she monetized the original video”.
In the track, she admitted that she did used to talk to her fans in group chats, but denied that it was ever “creepy”, and said people were making up “lies” for “clout” and to earn off her name.
It is claimed the song was also available to stream on Apple Music earlier this week, and was marked as copyrighted but has since been removed.
Legal representatives for the social media star have since shut down the allegations, telling BuzzFeed: “Ms. Ballinger did not upload the song or video to Apple Music or to any other streaming platform for sale or for any other purpose. We don’t know how it got published on those platforms.
“It was done without Ms. Ballinger’s knowledge or authorisation, and we have taken measures to have it removed. Likewise, Ms. Ballinger has not issued any copyright infringement claims on videos featuring the song, nor has she monetized the video.”
Who is Colleen Ballinger?
Colleen Ballinger, 36, is a YouTuber known for playing the character Miranda Sings, and began uploading videos 15 years ago. She also performs live and dates for her US tour are listed on her website but when the links are clicked on, the resulting Ticketmaster link says that the event has been cancelled due to “unforeseen circumstances”. Her podcast Oversharing was cancelled after three episodes.
Her Miranda Sings YouTube channel has more than 10 million subscribers, while her personal channel, PsychoSoprano, has more than 8.5 million. A third channel, Colleen Vlogs, has more than three million. Her one-woman comedy show as Miranda Sings is touring.
Ballinger released a book as Miranda Sings, Selp-Helf [sic] in 2015 and had a Netflix show, Haters Back Off, which aired for two seasons in 2016 and 2017. This was followed by a Netflix comedy special, Miranda Sings Live, aired in 2019.
She is married to actor Erik Stocklin, with whom she has three children: Flynn and twins Maisy and Wesley.
What has Colleen Ballinger been accused of?
Ballinger has been accused of having inappropriate relationships with fans.
Former fan Adam McIntyre first accused Ballinger in 2020, claiming that he and Ballinger would privately talk online and on the phone when he was a young teenager. He also said that she sent him lingerie during a livestream, which Ballinger has admitted.
But now McIntyre’s claims have resurfaced and fresh claims have emerged.
Earlier in June, several former fans came forward with allegations that Ballinger engaged in inappropriate conversations with them when they were teenagers.
At the height of her YouTube fame, Ballinger created a group chat – Colleeny’s Weenies – with a few of her fans, including McIntyre.
The YouTuber reportedly discussed sexual positions with the teenagers and allegedly discussed the relationship problems she was experiencing with her ex-partner, Joshua Evans.
Several fans further discussed their experiences with Ballinger in interviews with HuffPost.
One claimed that the fans would video chat with Ballinger for hours at a time, multiple times a week.
A fan named Becky also spoke to HuffPost about how, at a live show, Ballinger called her on stage to take part in a yoga sketch. She asked her to lie on her back before opening her legs wide, leaving her feeling “shocked” and “embarrassed”.
Fans have also claimed Ballinger made them harass people online as a means to defend her from critics.
How has she responded to the allegations?
Ballinger responded to the allegations with a 10-minute long ukulele song uploaded to YouTube, in which she sings: “I’m not a groomer, I’m just a loser.”
She said her team had “strongly advised” her to not say what she wanted to say, explaining that that’s why she chose to sing instead.
She claimed people have been saying things about her that aren’t true and dismissed the rumours as a “toxic gossip train” and that they were “made up for clout”.
Ballinger also argued that the former fans who had made the accusations weren’t looking for her to take accountability but instead wanted to ruin her life.
She admitted to messaging fans but not in a “creepy” way, and said that in the early days of her career she didn’t understand that she needed to establish boundaries.
Colleen Ballinger's entire 10 minute non-apology song transcribed in one image so you don't have to listen or give her a view: pic.twitter.com/hYtN2T1aqw
— cat (@harsesischild) June 28, 2023
How has Ballinger’s video been received?
Her video has sparked a backlash, as well as a wave of memes on Twitter. Many people have criticised Ballinger for not taking the claims seriously and for addressing the allegations with a ukulele song.
McIntyre, who is among Ballinger’s accusers, responded to the video on Twitter and said: “as much as colleen discredited & made fun of me, im glad her video did ONE thing, show you all EXACTLY the type of evil woman she is, that a lot of us have experienced over the past few years behind the scenes, the mask has slipped…everyone meet the REAL colleen ballinger.”
as much as colleen discredited & made fun of me, im glad her video did ONE thing, show you all EXACTLY the type of evil woman she is, that a lot of us have experienced over the past few years behind the scenes, the mask has slipped…everyone meet the REAL colleen ballinger.
— adam mcintyre (@theadammcintyre) June 28, 2023
Internet culture reporter Kat Tenbarge said: “When you used your teenage fans to bully and harass other people on the internet for years and then they grew up,” and attached an image of Ballinger from her video.
It was then alleged earlier this week that the track had been uploaded to Apple Music by Ballinger, complete with a copyright warning attached.
Some speculated that the move to post the clip online had purposefully been done to fall in line with YouTube’s strict copyright rules which state that creators on the site should not use content in their videos “that someone else owns the copyright to, such as music tracks.”
But Ballinger, through her lawyers, has strongly refuted the rumours, saying Ballinger and her team have no idea how the track got online, and they were working to remove it. It has since been taken down.
