'She just does not exist to me anymore': Trisha Paytas addresses allegations that Colleen Ballinger, aka Miranda Sings, shared private photos without consent
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Colleen Ballinger, professionally known by her YouTube character Miranda Sings, has had allegations that she has behaved inappropriately with underage fans for years. The initial accusations came from former fan Adam McIntyre, who spoke out against Ballinger in 2020 and got backlash for doing so. McIntyre revisited the issues surrounding Ballinger in a series of YouTube videos uploaded in early June.
On July 3, two other former fans of Ballinger’s accused the YouTuber of texting them explicit photos of fellow content creator Trisha Paytas.
Johnny Silvestri was one of the former fans who alleged Ballinger sent him photos of Paytas as recently as 2020 in various states of undress from other social media platforms, according to his screenshots. Silvestri was not a minor during the conversations.
Silvestri also claimed on Twitter that Ballinger would send videos from Paytas’s paywalled sites and would encourage “viewing parties for Trisha’s porn” and have fans make fun of Paytas. In a tweet, Silvestri apologized to Paytas for playing a role in the viewing parties.
Paytas has been open about working as a sex worker for several years and occasionally charging for nude photos behind paywalled sites like OnlyFans, which require users to be over 18 years old.
Paytas did not comment on the accusations against Ballinger during June, despite the duo being co-hosts of a recently launched podcast. But following Ballinger’s now infamous ukulele response video, Paytas took to her own channel on Monday to address the allegations.
“I do not condone it,” she said. “I think it’s the most disgusting thing and, above all else, illegal.”
Paytas reiterated that her private photos were from behind paywalls that only allowed users over 18 years old to view them. Paytas said she did not give consent for Ballinger to screenshot the material nor did she know the material was being shared, potentially with underage fans.
“I’m embarrassed to be associated with her,” Paytas continued. “I’m embarrassed for the fans that she messaged those to. That should never have happened. And, again, this really hurts sex workers as a whole — this is out there and it looks like we’re some deviants because this is used in this way.”
Paytas also claimed that she had been filming with Ballinger months before some of the texts were allegedly sent.
“I’m not going to speak on this again,” she added. “I will never speak on Colleen again. She just does not exist to me anymore.”
Paytas also claimed she addressed the allegations with Ballinger weeks prior and Ballinger “assured me that she had never sent photos of me” to fans.
In California, where Ballinger is based, revenge porn is illegal. Revenge porn is classified as the act of posting or sharing someone’s private photos online without their consent. There has been no word on whether Ballinger will be under criminal investigation.
“I don’t get those texts at all,” Paytas said in her video. “I’m the joke. My naked body’s the joke, I guess. I don’t know.”
As more allegations resurface, old clips from Ballinger’s live shows and YouTube videos as Miranda Sings have begun to circulate, with viewers questioning the appropriateness — or lack thereof — of the content. Not just with fans, but with other celebrities too.
The first video Ballinger made with JoJo Siwa, for example, has been brought up and questioned. Ballinger and Siwa have collaborated several times over the last few years, but the first video which was uploaded in Oct. 2016 shows a 29-year-old Ballinger making fun of a 13-year-old Siwa’s outfit.
“You’re not supposed to dress porn when you are dancing, I can see her entire legs,” Ballinger says in her character Miranda, referring to Siwa’s shorts.
When Siwa changes into pants, Ballinger adds, “I’m just now realizing that your shirt says ‘milk’ all over it. You drink milk? You know that comes from a private part?”
Siwa has not publicly commented on the Ballinger allegations nor the recirculating video she’s in from 2016.
Ballinger denied grooming or behaving inappropriately with fans in a video she uploaded on June 28. Prefacing the video with a note that her team “strongly advised” her “not to say what I want to say,” she played a 10-minute song with a ukulele denying all accusations.
“All aboard the toxic gossip train,” she sang, “chugging down the tracks of misinformation.”
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