Colleen Ballinger was not wearing blackface in the viral video from a performance in her past.
The 36-year-old YouTube star was accused of racist behavior after a clip of her performing Beyonce‘s hit song “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” at a 2009 show resurfaced online. Some on social media thought that she painted her face black for the number.
However, that was not the case, and her legal team issued a statement to clear the air and provide much-needed context.
Read more about Colleen Ballinger’s allegations…
Colleen‘s lawyer Andrew Brettler explained that her face was actually painted green as she had just performed the song “As Long As You’re Mine” from the musical Wicked with Broadway actor Oliver Tompsett.
The video that circulated online started after the Wicked performance and did not include that additional context.
“What you don’t see in the clip that was posted online is that Colleen was performing a song from Wicked with Oliver Tompsett, a star from the show. She painted her face green like the witch,” Andrew explained in a statement. “After that number, she went right into Single Ladies (while still wearing the green makeup). At that time, she closed all her shows with that Beyoncé number — it was one of her most popular bits.”
The accusations of blackface come after Colleen was accused of having inappropriate relationships with minor fans. She responded to the allegations with a 10-minute ukulele song. She was also accused of inappropriate behavior on the set of her Netflix series Haters Back Off, which she and her lawyer have seemingly not yet responded to.
If you were unaware, fellow YouTuber Trisha Paytas recently reacted to additional allegations against Colleen.
Check out a photo from the Wicked performance below…
