JoJo Siwa appears to be sticking by Colleen Ballinger‘s side amid the YouTube star’s ongoing scandal.
“I’ve known Colleen since I was 12. She’s always been nothing but kind to me,” JoJo shared during an episode of the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast in September 2023. “The internet can take a lie and run so far with it that it’s to the point where you just can’t do anything about it.”
Keep reading for everything to know about where their friendship stands now.
Are JoJo Siwa and Colleen Ballinger Still Friends?
It appears there is no bad blood between them, even amid Colleen’s ongoing scandal. JoJo said she knows Colleen “very, very well,” during the same podcast episode.
“I think the work that Colleen has done for the internet is incredible,” JoJo shared. “Miranda Sings, her character, is a comedian, and I think that it’s very hard to be a character where people are also looking at you as you’re a real human behind that character. Being a comedian is very hard because you were able to do things years ago that were OK, and now that we’ve grown and matured we’ve realized they’re not OK.”
The Dance Moms alum added, “The problem is the internet was able to capitalize off her cancellation. And it’s not OK and a lot of it is based off of lies.”
What Happened to Colleen Ballinger?
In June 2023, fans and fellow internet creators accused Colleen of being inappropriate with them, sharing since-deleted social media screenshots which appeared to show text messages with young supporters.
YouTuber Adam McIntyre, for one, uploaded a YouTube video in 2020 where he claimed that Colleen had “an inappropriate personal friendship with him while he was between the ages of 13 and 16.” She apologized at the time.
When the allegations resurfaced in June 2023, she uploaded an apology video which received backlash from fans. Titled “Toxic Gossip Train,” Colleen sang a 10-minute-long song in which she claimed that “some people are saying things about me that just aren’t true,” noting she’s “not a groomer, just a loser.”
However, Colleen sang that she would not say she’s “100 percent in the wrong” because then she would be “admitting to lies and rumors” that were made up “for clout.”
Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.
