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YouTube Abuse
This article or section needs expansion. |
Content Warning: This page deals with information and events that are disturbing.
Disclaimer: Unless otherwise noted, these allegations have not been proven in a court of law.
| Event | |
|---|---|
| Event: | A wave of allegations of inappropriate behavior with underaged fans, sexual assault, and manipulative behavior against YouTubers, many of whom were involved in fan spaces. |
| Participants: | |
| Date(s): | c.2012-c.2014 |
| Type: | Scandal |
| Fandom: | Multiple (the Harry Potter community as well as the Nerdfighteria community were widely impacted) |
| URL: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
YouTube Abuse is the collective name for a series of scandals starting around 2012, but reaching an apex in early 2014, that involved serious allegations of abuse and mistreatment by popular YouTubers, often targeted at young, underage fans.
Many of the individuals involved grew to prominence on the platform due to their involvement in communities creating fannish music (in particular, Trock and Wrock) and through involvement in the Nerdfighteria community.
Similar Topics
History
General Overview
The earliest example of YouTube Abuse was the crimes of Mike Lombardo. Lombardo was a YouTuber who went to prison in 2012 for CSAM after he traded explicit photos and images with eleven underage fans. Lombardo was presumably released from prison in 2018. [1] [2]
Specific Allegations
At the time of its last update on 8 October 2014, the lists of accused YouTubers maintained by the blog YouTube Speaks contained a list of 28 individuals.[3] A related masterpost posted on the WordPress blog YouTube Abuse (from which the naming of this event is derived) from July 2016 lists over 40 individuals.[4] Not all of the individuals accused should be detailed here, but this should focus on the most widespread accusations tied directly to creators in fandom. Information about additional creators is welcome.
Alex Carpenter
Alex Carpenter, the YouTuber known for being the frontman of the wrock band The Remus Lupins, and was outed as an abuser in early 2014.[5] A number of the tumblr blog posts detailing Carpenter's actions have since been deleted; however, evidence does remain.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] In 2021, writer Geoff Hutton described Carpenter's pattern of behavior as follows:
The accounts of Carpenter’s behavior tell the story of an opportunist abuser who was very much aware of how popular he was and who got off on trying to prove he could get any girl he wanted by getting them all (no matter how young). Several of the stories told by survivors of Carpenter’s abuse demonstrate a pattern: he would meet underage girls at conventions or online, gain their trust, get what he wanted from them, and then break them down to keep them from having the courage to cut him off when he forced them to do things they didn’t want to or make him admit that he was hurting them.[15]
As of 2024, Carpenter has not updated his YouTube or been active as an influencer on social media since this information was brought to light in early 2014.
Luke Conard
For a detailed account of the accusations against Conard on the wiki, please see here.
Alex Day
For a detailed account of the accusations against Alex Day (aka nerimon) on the wiki, please see here.
Tom Milsom
Reaction & Response
Community Response
While many members of the community were shocked and horrified by the allegations, constructive dialogue was had regarding issues of consent. In their response to Mike Lombardo's arrest, John and Hank Green expressed that they were "stunned by the way this community [Nerdfighteria] has come together to support the people affected" and that they found it "inspiring to watch healthy discussions, messages of love, and intelligent thoughts spread across our community."[19]
Members of the Nerdfighter community also discussed how to move forward from the scandals as a community.[20]
Criticism of the Allegations
Not all members of the community took the allegations seriously, and some wanted to continue to support these creators. Posts actually expressing this support are extremely hard to find in the 2020s, indicating that most have not survived. However, surviving posts do indicate other users' frustration and disapproval of the aforementioned posters.[21] [22] [23]
On 16 March 2014, a user on the forum yttalk stated that they were "suspicious" of the allegations due to the sheer number. This individual speculated that it could be "a conspiracy to take down some YouTubers with false accusations."[24] Some of the other commenters on the thread expressed skepticism, and one stated that they would continue to watch Alex Day's content anyway. [24] Some reddit users also expressed sympathy for Day.[25]
Some of the discussion involved debates on how to best address these concerns, with some users disapproving of the approaches suggested by others.[26]
Creator Responses
John and Hank Green
Due to the proximity of the scandals to the Nerdfighteria community, John and Hank Green of the vlogbrothers both responded to the situation on several occasions. In the wake of Mike Lombardo's arrest in 2012, John and Hank released a joint statement on Hank's tumblr expressing their shock and distress at the situation, announcing that Lombardo's listing with DFTBA Records had been taken down, and praising the community for their responses.[19]
After the allegations against Tom Milsom came out in March 2014, John and Hank both responded once again. Milsom's music was removed from DFTBA Records due to the label's no-tolerance policy of abuse.[27] Hank wrote in response, "I haven’t said anything about this today because I just don’t know what to say. Tom was my friend. I looked up to him…I trusted him. I am furious…that’s all I can feel right now. My only consolation is that I honestly believe these issues are coming to light in this community not because they are more common, but because we are more empowered to speak out and not hide from or cover them up." [27]
Adding to Hank's post about Milsom, John added that he shared Hank's disappointment with Milsom's behavior, writing: "I don’t know how to feel about this stuff except sad and angry, but I want to be public about my sadness and anger, because I don’t want to let this go unacknowledged. I’ve written and deleted thousands of words about this today, and I’m grateful to Hank for saying most of what I wanted to say. Consenting adults: Go forth and do all the things! But the abuse of power we seem to see regularly in these manipulative fan/creator relationships is reprehensible and unacceptable. We are working hard to make sure that events we plan and endorse are as safe and secure as possible."[27]
On 14 March 2014, Hank uploaded a video titled "Sexual Abuse, Consent, and Culture" to the vlogbrothers YouTube channel in response to the wave of allegations that month.[28] According to Hank, "While that situation certainly spurred me to make this video, I also think a video like this is long overdo. We're excited to be facing these problems head-on, because the only way out is through."[29] That same day, Hank published a response on his tumblr blog, writing, "I am so tired of being angry that now I’m just sad."[30]
Charlie McDonnell
In response to the accusations made against her friend and collaborator Alex Day, Charlotte McDonnell (known on YouTube by the screen name charlieissocoollike) published a blog post on her website. Unfortunately, the contents of this post (which was titled "Sexual Abuse, Consent, and Losing Friends") do not seem to have survived.[31] [32] Comments from reddit users in response to the post indicate that McDonnell expressed sadness along with bystander guilt regarding the situation and had moved to cut ties with accused creators such as Day.[32]
Other Creator Responses
YouTuber Evan Edinger published a video in response to the situation titled "Sexual Abuse on YouTube."
A contemporary reddit comment indicates that many YouTube creators addressed the situation, though this individual expressed disappointment that most of those addressing the situation were "smaller creators."[33]
Legacy
Unfortunately, the YouTube Abuse scandals of the early 2010s were not the last time such behavior would be uncovered. In the years following, allegations of grooming, sexual assault, and various other forms of inappropriate behavior have been brought by fans of YouTubers as well as other creators. This seems to be, in part, due to the relevant accessibility to online content creators, which leaves an easier path for abusers to target victims.
The proximity of YouTube Abuse to filk communities, such as trock and wrock, can be attributed to the genres' decline after a surge in popularity in the early 2010s. In January of 2024, tumblr user eph-em-era added to a meta commentary of filk, reflecting on these events: "Needless to say, fandom music absolutely exists. It's just... strangely often become a place where awful people go to hang out."[34]
While this initial wave of accusations was not covered by the mainstream news, future scandals along a similar vein would gain attention from these media outlets.
Later in the 2010s, the #MeToo movement would gain some comparisons to these events, as many women were encouraged by both to share their experiences.
References
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20140318062421/http://realhayleyghoover.tumblr.com/post/79421115984/recent-events-have-given-me-the-confidence-to
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20120301022357/http://edwardspoonhands.com/post/17853924730/a-note-from-john-and-hank
- ^ https://youtubespeaks.tumblr.com/accused
- ^ https://youtubeabuse.wordpress.com/2016/07/28/masterpost/
- ^ Not to be confused with Remus and the Lupins, an entirely separate act.
- ^ https://scrabblized.tumblr.com/post/79939943485
- ^ https://halliedarling.tumblr.com/post/79655473993/i-left-the-wizard-rock-community-because-of-alex
- ^ https://kellelucas.tumblr.com/post/79718609068/alex-carpenter-used-me
- ^ https://youtubespeaks.tumblr.com/post/95282317928/update-on-youtube-sexual-abuse
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20150415211131/http://wmilam.tumblr.com/post/79987966729/awkward-boy-stories
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20170524094832/http://hermionejg.tumblr.com/post/79604244628/i-am-going-to-start-with-a-redundant-sentence
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20150222004050/http://regularusername0409.tumblr.com/post/79667617515/yes-this-is-another-post-about-being-manipulated
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20141017022115/https://sarahsnitch.tumblr.com/post/98902758438/i-just-wanted-to-say-that-the-person-who-was-sending
- ^ [1]
- ^ https://www.wrocklopedia.com/2021/10/08/why-we-dont-talk-about-the-remus-lupins-and-ministry-of-magic/
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20140325055028/http://edwardspoonhands.com/post/79572398708/wtf-is-going-on
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20140316022815/http://fishingboatproceeds.tumblr.com/post/79313820434/tom
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20190408233720/http://effyeahnerdfighters.com/post/79387014308/tom-milsom-and-the-new-age-of-internet-fame
- ^ Jump up to: a b https://web.archive.org/web/20120301022357/http://edwardspoonhands.com/post/17853924730/a-note-from-john-and-hank
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/nerdfighters/comments/20kmxq/how_do_you_see_the_nerdfighter_community_moving/
- ^ https://www.tumblr.com/yourtugboatcaptain/93711200801/okay-i-thought-i-had-let-this-go-but-after?source=share
- ^ https://www.tumblr.com/yourtugboatcaptain/93761181926/re-your-luke-and-alex-post-has-anyone-you-know-ever?source=share
- ^ https://www.tumblr.com/kaykayrealcha/95047499287/should-have-known-the-shit-about-alex-day-and-luke?source=share
- ^ Jump up to: a b https://yttalk.com/threads/tumblr-allegations-against-youtubers.115523/#google_vignette
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/nerdfighters/comments/2dhlnn/heres_recent_updates_on_alex_day_if_anyone_was/
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20150201232618/https://d-f-t-b-a.tumblr.com/post/99934676927/alleged-sexual-abuse-in-the-youtube-community-and
- ^ Jump up to: a b c https://web.archive.org/web/20140316022815/http://fishingboatproceeds.tumblr.com/post/79313820434/tom
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/nerdfighters/comments/20g8r1/sexual_abuse_consent_and_culture/
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO-sqIoi_lQ&t=74s
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20140325055028/http://edwardspoonhands.com/post/79572398708/wtf-is-going-on
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20231202010119/https://charliemcdonnell.com/password?r=%2Fsexual-abuse-consent-and-losing-friends
- ^ Jump up to: a b https://www.reddit.com/r/nerdfighters/comments/20oewq/charlies_blog_post_sexual_abuse_consent_and/?rdt=51895
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/nerdfighters/comments/2qf77o/sexual_abuse_on_youtube_evan_edinger/
- ^ https://www.tumblr.com/arcticmist0324/771650756552097792/there-was-definitely-a-huge-wave-of-fannish-music?source=share