In a 42-minute YouTube video titled “YOU’VE BEEN LIED TO,” prominent YouTuber ProJared shed light on his version of the events that unfolded earlier this year regarding allegations that he solicited nude photos from minors.
ProJared, whose real name is Jared Knabenbauer, had a successful YouTube channel until then-partner, Heidi O’Ferrall, accused him of cheating on her. She also claimed he’d been soliciting nude photos from fans for years, leading others to come forward with allegations that he was doing so from minors.
Early in the video, he shares why he waited three months to say something, asserting that he wanted to be sure he could talk about it, looking to lawyers, law experts, and officials for guidance.
“I wasn’t going to do anything until I was certain it would be safe to talk about it,” he said. “Thankfully, it is. So, here I am.”
Exchanging Photos With Fans
He then opens up about the Tumblr site he operated, admitting he exchanged nude photos with fans on the site but insisting it was never more than an “open invitation” for consenting adults to do so.
“It was never meant to be an abuse of power,” he said. “I never offered anyone anything in return, like making them a Twitch mod or early access to a YouTube video or whatever.”
He makes clear that he understands that even if fans weren’t getting anything specific in return, there was, by nature of his status as a YouTuber, an inherent reason why some fans would choose to engage anyway.
“I want to acknowledge now that there was a power imbalance,” he says, going on to add that “I feel that what I was doing was not predatory. But it was unhealthy.”
The Accusations Of Minors
He then moves on to allegations that he knowingly encouraged discreet interactions with two minors.
He start by noting that tweets referencing both of most disturbing accusations in question have been deleted, stating that this is “the equivalent of firing a gun, and then trying to hide it while it’s still smoking.”
He provides a host of context that he feels negates the credibility of two fans who accused him of inappropriate behavior. For the first, which he refers to as Chai, ProJared asserts he doesn’t remember any interactions with this fan at all. He then uses a story drawn from what he believes to be Chai’s Medium account to negate this person’s allegations of the timeline of ProJared’s activities. When compared against the timeline Chai gave of the alleged communication with ProJared, the implication is that Chai was experiencing psychotic episodes at the time he claims to have been in contact with ProJared.
Next, he shares context from Charlie, a fan with whom he does recall interacting. At the time, Charlie claimed that ProJared solicited nude photographs and never asked his age. However, ProJared claims that he did, in fact, ask for Charlie’s age, and that Charlie lied. ProJared then shows a series of Tumblr exchanges to support his claim.
Via Twitter, Charlie had insinuated that ProJared’s behavior was “predatory.” ProJared then went on to show that this person had continued to initiating conversations with him, negating that this would constitute predatory behavior. He also points out how, in an interview with The Daily Beast, Charlie shared that they did not recall ProJared having asked their age. ProJared then indicated that, since he did, in fact, ask about Charlie’s age, their statement constitutes libel.
Why Was He Accused?
He then goes on to explain his theories as to his accusers’ motives, which he claims to point to money and attention. According to him, the first group the accusers notified about the claims were The Game Grumps, as opposed to law enforcement or even his then-wife.
“I was shown the email, and even I believed it,” he says. “None of it sounded right to me, but if they were saying this, I must have done this, right?” Ultimately, he claims this was the impetus for his apology to them.
He supplements his assertion that the claims were driven by fame and money by noting the heightened clout that followed the accusation. He noted that both have shared links to donation platforms, opportunities for commissioned artwork, and other instances of what he calls “e-begging.”
Next, he references YouTuber and former Playboy model Pamela Horton, who also accused him of looking up nude photos of her and showing them to other men at an event. ProJared, on the other hand, believes she lacked context as to what had happened as she wasn’t present at the event, claiming that if anything, he was merely looking at her cosplay photos. He also said that allegations that he’d later said lewd things to her or ignored her groups were also untrue.
Finally, he notes that viral stories regarding him cheating on his then-wife, O’Ferrall, were untrue. Here, he shares that he’d been attempting to break it off but had been “denied.” He claims she’d threatened his career in the process of his attempt to try to end it around that time time.
He then summarizes the video by referring to what happened to him as bullying. However, he also makes sure to encourage fans to watch his YouTube videos and forthcoming Twitch streams.
“Nobody likes cancel culture,” he said in closing, “until they get the opportunity to cancel someone.”
The Twitter Army Will Just Swing The Other Way
If true, ProJared’s take on the series of events would absolve him from the most serious of the accusations against him. However, he doesn’t appear to accept responsibility for a failure to exercise boundaries or for his role in staying in a relationship in which he was unhappy, decisions which led to the cheating controversy. He also used the event as a chance to promote his own comeback, which appears tone-deaf in light of the nature of the video content.
O’Ferrall was also quick to point out that her relationship with ProJared was much more complicated than he insinuates in the video.
Others are also pointing out inaccuracies in the video. Contrary to what ProJared says in the video, KEEMSTAR, host of the YouTube channel DramaAlert, was quick to note that he did, in fact, attempt to reach out to ProJared.
But perhaps most tellingly, he goes into far greater detail than necessary to damage the accusers’ credibility, even going as far as to share screen names and handles. Even in light of his calls for others not to harass anyone, it seems highly probable that the video will incite action against his accusers.
