Top 10 YouTuber Scandals You Forgot About
Keemstar Falsely Accuses Sir Tony Ray
Sir Tony Ray was the moniker of Tony Ray Winchester, a “RuneScape” player who amassed a serious following on Twitch. In 2016, he caught the attention of YouTuber Keemstar, who made baseless accusations of him being a sexual predator, confusing him with John Philips, a Massachusetts man who used "Runescape" for grooming purposes. As a result, he was the target of a major harassment campaign. He even made a tweet, pleading with people to stop. Keemstar eventually apologized and deleted the videos, and Sir Tony forgave him. But it’s still a chilling reminder of how dangerous misinformation can be.
MaximilianMus
Swedish gaming YouTuber MaximilianMus was notorious for his trolling tendencies on games like “Fortnite.” But it seems it went beyond just being a nuisance. In 2021, fellow YouTuber MoistCr1TiKaL uploaded a video about MaximilianMus, titled “This Is The Worst Youtuber.” In it, he talks extensively about the toxic things he and his followers have done, both on and offline. Much of the focus was on his Discord communities, where he allegedly enabled the sharing of illegal media involving children. In response to these accusations, MaximilianMus initially deleted his channel. But he later returned, accusing MoistCr1TiKaL of slander.
Onision
Onision joined YouTube fairly early on, back in 2006. His video for "Banana Song (I'm a Banana)" especially gained attention. But as his fame grew, so did his notoriety. Among the controversies involving Onision include accusations of animal abuse and sexual assault. He even caught the attention of "To Catch a Predator's" Chris Hansen, In February 2023, he was named in a lawsuit from a woman accusing him him of grooming. He has also garnered controversy for insensitive remarks on issues like depression. Onision is currently still posting to YouTube and has yet to comment on the lawsuit.
LeafyIsHere
LeafyIsHere was a YouTuber known as “The King of Commentary” who was notorious for getting involved in drama with numerous other YouTubers, such as Keemstar, as well as uploading videos attacking groups like children and autistic people. Eventually, it got so bad that, in 2020, his original channel was banned from YouTube. Less than a month later, he was also banned from Twitch. He has tried to return to YouTube numerous times with new channels. However, these channels have since been shut down due to them being attempts at “ban evasion.” He has also been permanently suspended from Twitter.
Marina Joyce
Many of the creators in this list have garnered controversy for insensitive remarks and accusations of abuse. Marina Joyce sparked controversy for a rather unique reason. In 2016, rumors started flying around after viewers noticed something was amiss with Joyce’s videos. A popular conspiracy was that she was in danger, possibly from ISIS. Others believed she was having a mental health crisis. Some, meanwhile, just thought it was a publicity stunt. Then, in 2019, she was declared missing, only to be reported as alive and well only days later. Two months later, she made a post saying she “never went missing in the first place.”
Sam & Nia
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Christian Husband-and-wife vloggers Sam & Nia soared to YouTube fame with a lip-sync video to “Love Is an Open Door” from “Frozen.” And their family-focused videos gained a loyal following. However, there have been a couple notable controversies involving the pair. In 2015, a video was uploaded of Sam surprising Nia with news of her positive pregnancy test. This caused controversy about whether it was right for him to know about her pregnancy, which ended in a miscarriage, before she did. Not long after, Sam was revealed as having an account on affair dating website Ashley Madison. The couple took a hiatus before eventually returning to YouTube.
CSGO Lotto Scandal
In 2016, gaming YouTubers Trevor Martin and Thomas Cassell, better known as “TmarTn2” and “Syndicate,” began promoting CSGO Lotto, a gambling website where people could bet to win weapon skins for “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.” They made it seem like this was a site they had just found by chance. But that decidedly wasn’t the case. That summer, YouTuber HonorTheCall exposed the ruse. It seemed that Martin and Cassell were president and vice president, respectively. They were initially defensive, but eventually posted apology videos, to mixed response. They also ended up settling a case with the Federal Trade Commission regarding the misleading videos. Other YouTubers, like Jake Paul and RiceGum, have also faced controversy for promoting gambling site MysteryBrand to their young audiences.
SkyDoesMinecraft
“Minecraft” YouTuber Adam Dahlberg is arguably one of the most influential gaming YouTubers. But fans were likely shocked to learn about what was supposedly happening offline. In 2022, a former partner of theirs posted a 6,000-word open letter to them, alleging shocking abuse and harassment of herself and others, as well as intense bigotry. Others, including former colleagues and friends, came out with their own stories of mistreatment. A year later, Dalhlberg finally responded to the controversy in a lengthy apology post. They have also recently returned to posting content to their original channel, now known as “SkyDoesEverything.”
David Dobrik
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Vlog Squad leader David Dobrik is one of the most popular personalities on YouTube. He’s also one of the most controversial. In 2021, a member of his on-screen friend group was accused of sexual assault, leading to Dobrik losing sponsors and subscribers. He posted an apology video, which many doubted the sincerity of. He has also garnered controversy for racism in past content. Another major incident occurred in 2020, when Vlog Squad member Jeff Wittek was seriously injured in a dangerous wakeboarding stunt involving Dobrik. He subsequently filed a $10 million lawsuit against Dobrik.
Logan Paul
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Logan Paul is obviously no stranger to controversy, with his video in Japan’s Aokigahara forest being his most notorious incident. But that’s by no means the only time he’s displayed a serious lack of judgment. His song “No Handlebars” received backlash for its misogynistic lyrics and video. He also caused a stir in 2019 among the LGBTQ+ community for saying he would try to “go gay” for a month. In 2021, His NFT game “Cryptozoo” received a very negative reaction, both for its poor functionality and design as well as its marketing towards children. YouTuber Coffeezilla even referred to it as “His biggest scam.” What YouTuber scandal do you think deserves more attention? Let us know in the comments!
