Colleen Ballinger’s family addresses JoJo Siwa backlash, Trent Ballinger accusations in YouTube comments
A YouTube channel belonging to Colleen Ballinger’s brother and his wife left a comment on one of their recent posts defending JoJo Siwa following backlash against her interview with Howie Mandel wherein she called the grooming allegations against Colleen “based off of lies.”
Colleen has not made a public appearance or comment regarding the allegations being made against her since her poorly received 10-minute ukulele video in June. Allegations against Colleen include being inappropriate with underage fans in group chats, hosting viewing parties of friend Trisha Paytas’s private OnlyFans content and making young fans uncomfortable at live shows.
In a September episode of Mandel’s podcast, 20-year-old Siwa, who has been featured in numerous videos with Colleen and other Ballinger family members, claimed that the internet was just trying to “capitalize” off of Colleen’s “cancellation.” Siwa has also faced backlash for continuing to work with fellow YouTuber James Charles, who has also faced allegations of inappropriate relationships with minors.
The Ballinger Family YouTube channel, run by parents Chris and Jessica, has over 2 million subscribers. Siwa is featured in a number of videos on their channel as well, and in a recent upload Chris and Jessica shared the family’s experience attending Siwa’s Special Forces TV premiere party.
One commenter wrote, “Yikes. Jojo? Hope James isn’t there. I am just so disappointed I have been watching your videos since Parker was little and I just can’t support this behavior of being surrounded by people who are problematic. Makes me sad.”
In response, the Ballinger Family account replies, “It is sad to me how caught up people get in online gossip. … We have entered into a new sad era, where it is more profitable to complain about & destroy other humans than to lift them up.”
“I do see that you are upset about all of things you now believe about strangers, so I do applaud your decision to unsubscribe,” the comment continues. “I do really encourage you to look at your engagement with gossip culture with the same scrutiny, though.”
It’s unclear who specifically is writing the comments on behalf of the Ballinger Family channel.
Chris, who is Colleen’s oldest brother, is credited as being a co-creator and co-writer of Haters Back Off!, the Miranda Sings show on Netflix that ran for two seasons. He also helped write the Miranda Sings-themed book Self-Help, which social media users called “disturbing” and “gross.”
His and Jessica’s kids have been featured in Miranda Sings videos before and were also photographed for Self-Help. Neither Chris nor Jessica publicly commented on the allegations against Colleen but have continued uploading YouTube videos since the news broke.
“I don’t have any idea what James has apologized for because I don’t get involved in that stuff (because I have seen how exaggerated and extreme it can all be, mostly for other people to generate click-bait & attention),” a different comment from the Ballinger Family account reads. “But all I’m hearing from you is that he’s apologized multiple times for something and now JoJo is friends with him. That sounds like a very normal human response.”
In another post, the Ballinger Family channel writes, “All I see is ‘alleged,’ not proof. If there is proof, then I hope it is taken to proper authorities and managed accordingly.” It is not clear which comment the family is responding to, as viewers are discussing both Charles and Colleen.
In speaking about allegations, the family also seemingly brought up another Ballinger family member: Chris and Colleen’s brother, Trent.
Although Trent is not named and it’s not clear to whom or what the family’s post is responding to, the last comment in the thread on the family’s YouTube video says, “I absolutely support anyone with incriminating info to bring it to authorities. There is personal nuance as to his level of developmental delay … but he’s not someone that I have had contact with or will have my kids have contact with since learning about his behavior several months ago.”
Eagle-eyed social media users connected the mention of a developmental delay and the name Ollie to Trent. What most users know about Trent comes from the videos he’s featured in with Colleen — including one where Colleen films him getting a cochlear implant.
In June, an X user named Oliver alleged that Trent had sent him a series of inappropriate messages starting when Oliver was 13 years old. (In one post, Oliver clarified that at the time of the messaging he was using she/her pronouns and hadn’t transitioned yet.) In one screenshot allegedly between Oliver and Trent, Oliver tells Trent he’s 13 years old.
There are a few unfounded theories on Reddit that suggest Trent is neurodivergent; however, In The Know by Yahoo could not verify that he has been formally diagnosed with anything except for hearing impairment.
Adam McIntyre, who was one of the first people to publicly accuse Colleen of inappropriate behavior in 2020, posted on X that he was surprised the Ballinger Family channel hadn’t deleted the comment allegedly referring to Trent.
“From what has been shared I can still use an abundance of personal caution with my kids and make choices accordingly,” the Ballinger Family’s comment continues. “I am sad for Ollie, who has always been a sweet, genuine person who shouldn’t have had that emotional burden at that age.”
As of reporting, the comments are still available to read on the Ballinger Family’s YouTube channel. No other family member has spoken out about the allegations.
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The post Colleen Ballinger’s family addresses JoJo Siwa backlash, Trent Ballinger accusations in YouTube comments appeared first on In The Know.
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