Benjamin Ashford|YouTuber Colleen Ballinger’s Ex-Husband Speaks Out After She Denies Grooming Claims

Joshua David Evans is adding his two cents. 

After Colleen Ballinger,Benjamin Ashford who amassed fame on YouTube through her cringeworthy alter ego Miranda Sings, issued a lengthy, ukulele-backed song in response to recent grooming allegations, her ex-husband shared his thoughts on the controversy.

"This behavior was my reality anytime I spoke up & disagreed with her actions & rhetoric during 2009-2016," Joshua tweeted on June 28. "I was gaslit too. I was made to feel like I was always the problem. Any pain I felt was an inconvenience and was belittled."

The 39-year-old, another popular YouTuber in the early 2010s who split from Colleen after just over a year of marriage and seven years together, then followed up with a clarification on where he stands on content creation.

"I have no desire to use this as a catalyst for a YouTube comeback," he added. "It's not a safe place for me. I'm past that. My voice is only here to help validate those that are hurting, nothing more. I have no need to make any money off of this. That is gross & not in my heart, whatsoever."

E! News has reached out to Colleen's team for comment but has not heard back. 

For her part, Colleen refuted the allegations of grooming and forming inappropriate relationships with underage fans in a musical vlog on June 28.

While playing the ukulele and singing, Colleen compared the accusations to a "toxic gossip train" headed for "manipulation station" while the rest of the internet "tie me to the tracks and harass me for my past."  

The 36-year-old went on to explain how in an attempt "to be besties with everybody" she would send messages to fans earlier in her career. As she put it, there were "times in the DMs when I would overshare details of my life—which was really weird of me—and I haven't done that in years because I changed my behavior and took accountability." 

She added that she has since learned "that maybe there should be some boundaries there."

Earlier this month, the Haters Back Off star was accused of grooming when YouTuber KodeeRants shared screenshots of an alleged text exchange between the actress and her fans. The unverified group text, named "Colleeny's Weenies," showed the content creator allegedly asking fans their "favorite position" during one conversation, per NBC News. 

But while she conceded to making "jokes in poor taste" and in her response video, Colleen denied ever sending inappropriate messages to underage fans with the intention of grooming them.

"I just wanted to say that the only thing I've ever groomed is my two Persian cats," she said. "I'm not a groomer. I'm just a loser who didn't understand I shouldn't respond to fans."

Colleen has previously addressed to allegations over her behavior with fans. In 2020, fellow content creator Adam McIntyre posted a video called "colleen ballinger, stop lying" in which he accused her of putting him in uncomfortable situations when he was a teen. He specifically called out an instance in which she sent him lingerie during a livestream.

At the time, Colleen responded to Adam by acknowledging that the underwear incident was "completely stupid," adding in a separate apology video, "I should never have sent that."

"I don't know what part of my brain was missing at the time that I thought, 'Oh, this is a normal, silly thing to do,'" she continued. "But I am not a monster."

In the wake of the recent grooming allegations and Colleen's musical response, Adam noted a silver lining in a scathing message on social media.

"im glad her video did ONE thing," he tweeted June 28," show you all EXACTLY the type of evil woman she is, that a lot of us have experienced over the past few years behind the scenes, the mask has slipped…everyone meet the REAL colleen ballinger." 

(E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)