Scandal-hit YouTuber Colleen Ballinger appears to have used black face while performing Beyoncé's ‘Single Ladies’.
The 36-year-old – whose online persona Miranda Sings gained global fame when it was turned into the Netflix series ‘Haters Back Off’ – is already reeling from accusations she groomed her young fans and used a version of the n-word, and is now embroiled in a fresh row after a video of the song performance resurfaced.
It is not clear when the video was shot, but it was shared on February 2018 on Ballinger’s Miranda Sings YouTube channel – where it remains viewable but is unlisted.
In the video, Ballinger, in her Miranda Sings persona, has dark-coloured greasepaint on her face as she performs the Beyoncé hit.
A clip from the video was shared on Wednesday by social media influencer Paige Christie on Twitter.
She wrote online: “I’m gonna need someone to explain the black on her face… .”
Christie added said it appeared Ballinger performed ‘Single Ladies’ at a show in London’s West End around the summer of 2010.
Video of Colleen Ballinger performing “Single Ladies” by Beyoncé in blackface has surfaced.
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 5, 2023
The YouTuber was recently accused of engaging in racist behavior on set of her Netflix series ‘Haters Back Off!’ pic.twitter.com/mMiqyzMYRa
A string of web users on Reddit in the r/ColleenBallingerSnark subreddit suggested Ballinger is actually wearing green face paint after performing ‘Defying Gravity’ as Elphaba, the protagonist from the ‘Wicked’ musical.
The resurfacing of the video comes after Ballinger last week publicly responded to accusations that she formed inappropriate relationships with teenagers, denying that she had “groomed” fans who were children.
In a June 28 video, she denied the “lies” and “gossip”, partly in song while accompanying herself on a ukulele.
She sang: “I’m sure you’re disappointed in my s***** little song, I know you wanted me to say that I was 100 percent in the wrong, Well I’m sorry I’m not gonna take that route, Of admitting to lies and rumours that you made up for clout.”
She added: “The only thing I’ve ever groomed is my two Persian cats, I’m not a groomer, just a loser.”
An article on apologizetome.com written by former writers' assistant April Korto Quioh and published on June 30 claims Ballinger displayed “cruelty” during the two seasons she worked on the ‘Haters Back Off’ show.
She said she was the “only black person in the office”, adding: “I recall overhearing (Colleen) once brag that a creator was being ‘cancelled’ for saying the n-word (and if you think she went with ‘n-word’ instead of hitting that hard ‘r’ then you haven’t been paying attention) and that she would never be stupid enough to get caught doing something like that.”