10 Disturbing YouTube Scandals We Forgot About

10 Disturbing YouTube Scandals We Forgot About

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re exploring the most unsettling, shocking scandals and crimes involving YouTubers that’ve been forgotten about by the public for one reason or another.

Laura Lee’s Tweets

In the Hall of Shame of YouTuber apologies, Lee’s 2018 attempt is a lowlight in the series. However, while many remember the apology, not everyone remembers the reason for it. Lee’s X, formerly Twitter, history was uncovered, showcasing tweets she’d made that were racist and fat-shamed people from 2012 and 2013. On top of being criticized for her apology video being perceived as disingenuous and seemingly positioning herself as a victim, the beauty YouTuber had her products pulled from stores and companies, such as Boxycharm, cut working relationships with her. Due to the backlash to her first apology video, Lee released another. She apologized for her apology video and, due to less theatrical crying, was much better received than the former one.

DaddyOFive

In 2015, Michael Martin created DaddyOFive to showcase his family online “for fun.” Yet that enjoyment soon went awry. Practical joke videos soon took center stage over vlogging, becoming more extreme as his children were subjected to stunts and encouraged to torment each other. This soon sparked outrage from the media. As well as two of the children being removed and taken into the care of their biological mother, Martin and his wife, Heather, were criminally charged for neglecting minors. In 2017, after agreeing to an Alford plea, the duo received five years of probation. The family attempted to make comebacks on YouTube multiple times, each resulting in the channel being banned.

The Save the Kids Token

In 2021, influencers, including several FaZe Clan members, RiceGum, and Sam Pepper, announced the Save the Kids cryptocurrency token. Despite having a similar name and logo to the charity Save the Children, the token wasn’t connected to them. The plan was that if a $KIDS token was traded, a percentage of that money would go to charities supported by Binance. However, that didn't happen. According to an investigation by Coffeezilla, the code that prohibited “whales,” accounts that can hoard tokens, was changed at the last second before launch. As such, the project was accused of being a “pump and dump” scheme, as the token price dropped significantly while influencers sold their collections. Due to his involvement, FaZe Kay was kicked out of the group.

Gabbie Hanna vs. Jessi Smiles

In 2019, after Hanna’s past behavior was brought up on social media, the scandal exploded when Jessi “Smiles” Vasquez released a video about her former friend. In 2013, Smiles accused fellow Vine star Curtis Lepore of assaulting her while she was concussed. In 2014, Lepore took a plea deal, and the charge was later downgraded to a misdemeanor. At the time, Hanna allegedly made problematic tweets dismissing Smiles’s events. Despite that, Hanna and Smiles became friends before drifting apart. After Hanna’s behavior was publicly showcased, she was classified as an assaulter apologist by the internet. She and Smiles then traded videos to put across their side. However, it backfired for Hanna when she referred to Smiles as her narcissistic abuser, drawing further outrage.

Austin Jones

After growing to fame as a YouTube musician who covers songs, especially a capella versions, Jones’s career took a hit in 2015 when he was accused of, and later apologized for, asking minors for inappropriate videos. Well, it got significantly worse in 2017 when his Illinois home was raided by the police, resulting in his arrest for possessing indecent content of minors. Allegations soon emerged that others involved in Jones’s career covered up or dismissed the 2015 accusations, despite the evidence. In 2019, Jones pleaded guilty to possessing the offensive material and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He’ll also have to register as an offender for life.

The 2014 Musician Abuse Allegations

The 2010s were bad for the public image of popular musicians on YouTube, especially those signed to DFTBA Records. Tom Milsom, best known for ukulele pop songs, was accused by a minor of being in an abusive relationship with them when he was an adult. He didn’t address the scandal until a 2019 apology video. Musician Alex Day, also known as “nerimon,” had similar accusations. He admitted in a blog post about consent that he’d had “manipulative relationships with women.” Several months later, after over 14 women came forward with allegations against him, Day released an apology video, which didn’t land too well as he monetized it and verbally attacked critics as “militantly liberal and intolerant.” Both Milsom and Day left YouTube.

Seven Awesome Kids

After finding success on YouTube with Seven Awesome Kids, Ian Rylett created an empire with several spin-off channels, earning nearly 20 million subscribers between them. The videos, typically focusing on girls and teenagers, had cast members vlogging about their lives. However, all the success vanished in 2018 when Rylett was arrested at a hotel near Florida’s Walt Disney World. He was accused of assaulting a minor, who was hoping to work as a cast member on his channels. In 2019, the disgraced producer pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 90 days in jail. Due to his plea, Rylett’s channels were terminated by YouTube.

Mike Lombardo

Focusing on his own original songs, Lombardo became an early success in YouTube’s history with his piano-infused pop music, resulting in DFTBA Records signing him. However, after releasing one EP and one LP with the company, allegations emerged that Lombardo had been exchanging intimate photos and videos with underage girls. DFTBA Records moved quickly to drop him and scrub his music from their website. Months later, Lombardo was arrested. As part of a plea deal, the disgraced musician pleaded guilty to receiving prohibited content from several minors. As a result, he was sentenced to five years in prison in 2014.

The Truth About Lonelygirl15

In 2006, YouTube viewers were enamoured with teenager Bree Avery and her channel, lonelygirl15. The early videos were of her vlogging about her everyday life as other people, such as Daniel Barlow, got involved. However, for some watching, something was…off. They believed the channel wasn’t a vlogging account for Bree, but something scripted. Well, it turned out they were right. The channel was devised by a team of people, while Bree was played by Jessica Lee Rose and Daniel by Yousef Abu-Taleb. After the creators admitted that lonelygirl15 was scripted, the videos became bizarre as the story featured supernatural elements. Beyond a brief return in 2016, lonelygirl15 concluded in 2008 and made its way into YouTube lore.

ImJayStation’s Hoax

In 2020, through his JayStation channel, Jason Ethier made a shocking announcement in a video. He stated that his partner, Alexia Marano, had passed away after a car crash. While many fans were devastated, others felt something wasn’t right as Ethier plugged his second channel and merchandise. It got weirder when he released more videos about Marano, including contacting her with an Ouija board. However, it soon emerged that Marano was alive, and this was a publicity stunt. She then broke up with him and accused him of assault, for which he was arrested. Due to YouTube demonetizing his main channel, Ethier used his secondary one to avoid it. However, that caused the platform to terminate all of his channels in 2021.

What other disturbing and forgotten YouTube scandals did we miss? Let us know in the comments!