colleen ballinger, the clown who got canceled

perhaps social media needs more accountability

Thank you for reading Hmm … That’s Interesting, a reader-supported publication! If you enjoy the newsletter, please consider becoming a subscribing member.

---

As someone who was perhaps overly ingrained in YouTube influencer culture in the early 2010s, I have been familiar with Colleen Ballinger, aka Miranda Sings, for a long time, in the way that one is aware of a spider in one's house. You are vaguely cognizant of its presence, and yet, every time you see it, you're both scared and surprised that it's still there. Still somehow relevant, and by virtue of its refusal to leave, increasingly annoying. 

But this is unfair. Spiders serve a purpose—Ballinger, meanwhile, is a hack.

And I am not just saying that because every day for the last two weeks, we have been regaled with a new tale of her disturbing and unchecked impropriety over the last fifteen years.

Apologies for the jumpscare, just need us all to be on the same page here. Credit: Getty Images.

If you remain unfamiliar with Colleen Ballinger (bless you), a recap: Ballinger began posting on YouTube in 2008, when she was 21 years old, as her character "Miranda Sings," a teenager with overdrawn red lipstick, unwarranted confidence, ugly outfits, and a mediocre singing voice that Miranda believed to be prodigious. If that sounds bad, if you are confounded by this character, and Ballinger by association, having found a modicum of success, much less the kind of success that leads to a two-season Netflix show—yes. You are correct in your skepticism. But social media has been generous and indiscriminate in its bounty. 

I don't think I've ever watched a full video of hers — her content is cringey, and not in a thought-provoking way. Ballinger's humor is mean and of the lowest caliber, so it makes sense that it was (is) peddled to children who do not know any better, who naturally find it harder to perceive the undercurrents of ableism, racism, and inappropriate messaging to minors. Messaging of which Ballinger, as an adult, can’t pretend ignorance. 

Making a career out of this, being known for this character, should be embarrassing. Every day of her life, Ballinger should be mortified of what her name has come to represent. Of the audacity to call this content comedy and to have allegedly abused children’s innocence on her path to ill-gained relevance. But she is not. And that has become overwhelmingly clear over the last few weeks.