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Days after her viral 'ukulele apology', Colleen Ballinger faces more allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

Days after dividing public opinion with a truly unorthodox apology tactic, YouTuber Colleen Ballinger is facing fresh allegations.

This time, a former writers' assistant on her Netflix series Haters Back Off, has published a blog post about her time working on the show. April Korto Quioh's account includes instances of racial microaggressions and hearing Ballinger use a racial slur.

Colleen Ballinger has been a YouTuber for more than a decade and is best known for her Miranda Sings character.

Miranda Sings was born in 2008 out of Ballinger satirising people who uploaded singing videos to YouTube, despite being unable to sing. The character is an untalented woman who believes she is destined for superstardom, and has a large contingent of mostly young fans.

In 2016, Miranda was the main character in the Netflix original Haters Back Off (2016–2017), and she also released a Netflix comedy special in 2019.

Listen: A viral apology we can't agree on. Post continues below audio.


On her Substack page you owe me an apology, TV writer Quioh — who has since written for Loot and Brooklyn Nine-Nine — has shared what her experience was like while working as a writers' assistant, showrunner's assistant and writers' PA on Haters Back Off.

She recalled learning about a prop called 'The Daddy Saddle', an item featured in Miranda Sings' videos, used to allow Miranda to more easily ride around on her Uncle's back. 

"Miranda and Uncle Jim had a, in the character's words, 'special relationship.' She often pitched stories in which Miranda and Uncle Jim would be caught in compromising positions or stomach-churning moments of intimacy that could always be easily explained away by a clueless Miranda," Quioh said. "It was my responsibility to write down every single one of these pitches... and mark points in the script where Colleen thought we could make Uncle Jim even more 'r***y.'"

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Quioh said this made her extremely uncomfortable.

"Here I was, the odd one out in every conceivable away, tasked to aid Colleen as she pursued her singular goal of shoving as much incestual innuendo into the show as possible," she continued.

She also alleged a number of instances of racism.

Quioh said that during a production meeting, she had to document Ballinger's "insistence that we used limited POC background actors as the show took place in Washington and having them just randomly there would be 'distracting'" and "her disgust as she demanded assurance that all the 'Asian sh*t' would be removed before filming" when an Asian food market was being re-dressed as a bodega for the show.

"I recall overhearing her once brag that a [YouTube] creator was being 'cancelled' for saying the n-word (and if you think she went with 'n-word' instead of hitting that hard 'r' then you haven't been paying attention) and that she would never be stupid enough to get caught doing something like that," she wrote.

Colleen Ballinger as Miranda Sings. Image: Getty.

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Throughout June, Ballinger faced a barrage of allegations that she acted inappropriately with mostly teenage fans.

Four former fans told Rolling Stone they had interactions with Ballinger that they considered toxic, exploitative, and hurtful.

Among the claims, Adam McIntyre said he had been manipulated and used by Ballinger, and acted as an "unpaid intern" for the YouTuber for four years, ghostwriting and coming up with ideas for viral content. 

He also said he had been included in a group chat with other teenagers where Ballinger, now 36, asked inappropriate, sometimes sexual, questions.

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"Tell me all the thoughts you had when you first got your periods. Please and thank you. Example: I thought I sh*t myself cuz the blood was so dark in my underwear," she allegedly wrote, addressing teenage girls in the chat.

At least four former fans told Rolling Stone they had interactions with Ballinger that they considered toxic, exploitative, and hurtful.

On June 28, Ballinger addressed the allegations with a 10-minute ukelele song.

While strumming a ukulele, Ballinger compared the accusations to a "toxic gossip train" headed for "manipulation station" as the rest of the internet "tie me to the tracks and harass me for my past".

It was this apology that Quioh said prompted her to write about her experiences working with Ballinger.

"She was cruel. And it was that same cruelty that I recognised in the video she posted on Wednesday, addressing the many allegations that have been piling up against her over the last few weeks."

Quioh hoped that everyone who had spoken out about this received "a thoughtful, sincere apology", instead of just a 10-minute song.

"One that acknowledges the very real pain they are clearly in, gives them the respect that they deserve, and is 100% ukulele-free," she concluded.

Feature image: Getty/YouTube.

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