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Top Worst YouTube Scandals
For this list, let’s take a look at previous scandals that had an impact on the YouTube community and received a lot of media coverage.
One could argue that YouTube is one of the most popular websites on the internet and that popularity is growing every day. Users of the platform utilize it to express their thoughts, share their own narratives, and create content that is viewed by thousands of users. On the platform, scams have also been known to occur. Some of the craziest things have happened in recent years that have shocked people all around the world.
Scandals have cost a lot of well-known YouTubers thousands of fans and supporters. But some of those scandals stand out as being very strange and nonsensical, which surprises their audience even more. For this list, let’s take a look at previous scandals that had an impact on the YouTube community and received a lot of media coverage.
Top Worst YouTube Scandals
1. Sam Pepper
Top 10 Worst YouTube Scandals
Sam Pepper was a former housemate on the 2010 season of the British reality television show Big Brother and a well-known YouTuber who was known for his funny practical jokes (pranks). He has more than a million viewers and subscribers globally.
He posted a contentious video in 2014 called “Fake Hand Ass Pinch Prank” in which he was shown groping ladies against their will. A year later, this backfired on him, and many girls accused Pepper of sexual harassment. He clarified that the video, which shows Pepper in disguise kidnapping online personalities Sam Golbach and Colby Brock before forcing Golbach to watch Brock be shot, was produced after the hashtag #ReportSamPepper became popular on Twitter. The frightened response startled Pepper, and Golbach stated that the video’s main message was to “live life to the fullest.”
Laci Green, a YouTube user who penned an open letter about abusing women and gathered more than 100,000 signatures, started petitions calling for Pepper to be banned. In response, Pepper created a GoFundMe website and stated that if donations reached $1.5 million, he would deactivate his YouTube account.
2. Austin Jones
Austin Jones, a YouTuber from Illinois, has millions of followers. He has released a few albums over the course of his career and is well-known for his humorous acapella song cover videos.
Jones had reportedly asked several young girls to record themselves twerking, which was made public in 2015. He admitted the accusation and apologized in a video. However, in 2017 at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, Austin Jones was apprehended on two counts of creating child pornography.
3. The Ace Family
Worst YouTube Scandals
First and foremost, the Ace Family YouTube channel depicts an opulent and happy family life that the typical person could only be able to picture. However, the patriarch, you won’t know where to start with this channel if you search for “Austin McBroom” and the word “scandal” online. To begin with, Austin has been accused of cheating on his wife and abusing other women and has been sued for unpaid expenses, including the repossession of their $13 million home.
He has also come under fire for acting irrationally toward his own children, especially after taking his daughter to a store selling adult toys and posting a Snapchat video about it. The family is accused of scamming their audience through several membership programs and inflating ticket sales for their own events to increase their appearance of success. Overall, it’s a little puzzling why they are still allowed to remain on the platform.
4. Olivia Jade
Top 10 Worst YouTube Scandals
Olivia Jade was a typical young adult YouTube celebrity and social media influencer. She doesn’t say anything harmful, and nothing looks unusual. Olivia is the child of disgraced “Full House” actress Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Gianulli, who was recently given a 5-month prison term after pleading guilty to charges of bribery and fraud.
After paying over $500,000 in bribes to get their daughter accepted to the University of Southern California ahead of any other students who are more deserving of the entrance, it was claimed that Olivia assisted her parents in fabricating an extracurricular file.
She was promptly banned from the internet after the problem became known. Olivia lost most of her subscribers which resulted in her losing the majority of her sponsors during this period. She openly apologized to her audience in 2020, however, the reception to her apology was unfavourable.
5. Marina Joyce Fake Kidnapping
One of the most important unresolved scandals on YouTube, Marina Joyce, still raises a lot of doubts. She initially became well-known for her beautifully fashion-focused work, with sporadic touches of playful humour and delightful cartoons. Marina was never particularly well-known for being a YouTuber, but over the years, she steadily racked up millions of views and a large number of followers, and her community seemed to thrive in her friendly, humorous environment. But after that, everything changed, and Marina Joyce rapidly gained prominence and public attention.
This teen YouTuber for beauty was the focus of an extensive investigation in July 2016. Marina Joyce had a peculiar aura about her in a video about date attire. Some of her followers even speculated that they might see bruises all over her body because she wasn’t acting as vivaciously as normal. Many saw these as indications that Joyce was under the influence of drugs or in danger; others even thought she had been abducted by ISIS. After the video went viral, worries grew to the point where police visited Marina Joyce’s home. Additionally, the trending hashtag #SaveMarinaJoyce is currently among the most talked-about news stories.
Eight months after taking a temporary break from YouTube, Marina returned with a brand-new video titled “Saving Marina Joyce.” She expressed her gratitude for everyone’s sympathy and admitted that she had actually experienced a terrible occurrence that had irreversibly harmed and shattered her psyche. When she lost her bearings, she recognized that “there was danger in her life.” Before the movie was even filmed, she fell in the woods, resulting in injuries; it was merely an unintentional advertisement.
6. Nicole Arbour
Top 10 Worst YouTube Scandals
In September 2015, Nicole Arbour posted the contentious “Dear Fat People” video to her YouTube channel. The video was briefly removed because it was being used to promote fat-shaming.
After uploading the video, she was fired from her job as a choreographer and was cut from an upcoming movie. From her perspective, she said that everything had been a marketing gimmick to help her make thousands of dollars.
7. DaddyOFive
Most Famous Worst YouTube Scandals
Michael Christopher Martin and his wife, Heather Martin, started the YouTube channel DaddyOFive. Their five children, Cody, Emma, Jake, Joshua, and Olivia, were the subjects of vlogs and practical jokes on the channel. The jokes got progressively worse, and after another YouTuber, Philip DeFranco, reported the incident, they were charged with child abuse.
One of their most contentious videos included Michael and Heather berating their sons for spitting ink on the carpet. They cursed, called the lads names, and even tossed the ink at them as they raged at them. Many individuals demanded that the Martins be looked up after the video received harsh criticism.
After the Maryland Department of Social Services conducted an investigation into the Martins, the kids were taken from their care. The Martins were also accused of abusing children, but they eventually admitted to two counts of child negligence instead of the other charges. They received a five-year probationary term and were required to pay $5,000 in fines.
8. The Fine Brothers
The Fine Brothers, well-known for their reaction films, announced intentions to trademark the word “react” and grant other filmmakers a license to use their style in 2016. They faced harsh criticism from fans and other content creators for what many saw as an effort to capitalize on a hugely successful idea.
The copyright lawsuits and reimbursement demands filed against YouTubers who posted reaction videos caused The Fine Brothers to lose around 675,000 subscribers. Despite the fact that Rafi and Benny Fine decided to halt the React World venture on February 1st, 2016, and accept the consequences, it will be tough to ever forget this regrettable business move.
Conclusion
It’s a usual practice for people to use YouTube as a platform to express themselves, share their stories, and create content that is viewed by a big audience. However, the platform has also hosted a number of big issues over time. Human and animal rights violations, harassment, racism and spooky prank elements have both been present in these occurrences. Some of the most famous YouTube scandals are included in the list below:
- Sam Pepper
- Austin Jones
- The Ace Family
- Olivia Jade
- Marina Joyce Fake Kidnapping
- Nicole Arbour
- DaddyOFive
- The Fine Brothers
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