Colleen Ballinger Apologizes After 'Culturally Insensitive' Video Resurfaces

Benjamin VanHoose
·3 min read

Colleen Ballinger is addressing a controversial video of hers that recently resurfaced.

On Tuesday, the YouTuber, 33, published a video in which she apologized to fans for a sketch she made with her sister 14 years ago in which they impersonated Latinx women. Ballinger — known for her Miranda Sings fame — admitted that the since-deleted video was "completely based in racial stereotypes."

"It is not funny, and it is completely hurtful," she said in the apology video. "I am so ashamed and embarrassed that I ever thought this was okay. I was a sheltered teenager who was stupid and ignorant and clearly extremely culturally insensitive."

She added: "Racial stereotypes are not funny, they're not a joke, and they should never be joked about."

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The mother of one said she was one of the "dumb ones" who participated in the humor at the time but has since evolved and learned from her mistakes.

"[I] grew from it and learned from it and realized how hurtful it could be," she said, "and now I want to right my wrongs and make a difference so that other people don't make the same mistakes that I made when I was a kid."

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Emma McIntyre/Getty Colleen Ballinger, March 2019

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Ballinger — who had a Netflix comedy special in 2019 as well as a series on the platform titled Haters Back Off — also apologized for her past body-shaming comments about a woman who once sat next to her on a plane.

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The performer said she talked "really negatively about her" — and that she felt "appalled and shocked" upon rewatching the clip of herself speaking in that way.

"That is not the woman that I am today," she said. "I'm such a huge advocate for women and women's bodies and loving every shape and every size, and the fact that I talked negatively about someone who was overweight is absolutely disgusting to me."

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The performer said she "should have known better" and that she's "extremely embarrassed" by her past remarks.

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"To anyone and everyone who was hurt or offended by the statements I made when I was younger, I am so, so sorry," said Ballinger. "I hope you all can see that the person I am today is so far from that ignorant person I was over a decade ago."

She added: "And to those of you who might say, 'Well, I knew better when I was that age,' or '14 years ago I knew right from wrong,' I'm so glad that you did, because that means that there's one less person making the stupid mistakes that I did."

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