On June 28, online comedian Colleen Ballinger stunned the internet with the most cringe YouTuber “apology” ever, which involved her playing the ukulele while singing about the “toxic gossip train chugging down the tracks of misinformation.” The song was immediately added into the freeware Guitar Hero clone appropriately called Clone Hero, where it has now been fully combo’d by rhythm gaming YouTuber Alec “Acai” Castillo.
If you’re not familiar with Ballinger, she’s a longtime YouTuber who rose to fame through an internet persona satirizing aspiring YouTube stars called Miranda Sings. It culminated in millions of fans and subscribers across multiple YouTube channels, web series, podcasts, and a Netflix special. She’s now been accused of having inappropriate online interactions with underage fans as well as making kids uncomfortable at her past live shows. So naturally, she took to YouTube to defend herself with a 10-minute song.
In it she acknowledges having made some mistakes but calls allegations that she ever “groomed” anyone false, and claims the current criticism and controversy has been drummed up by clout-chasing fans. But it was the presentation, rather than the content, that involuntarily commanded most people’s attention last week, like a slow-motion trainwreck, or, more specifically, someone climbing out of a slow-motion trainwreck and proceeding to sing about it while playing the ukulele.
The apology video was turned into a Clone Hero chart by YouTube user Jimmehzz and shared on the channel freebirdsmovie. “This was hard to make because Colleen cannot keep time and it made making chart hard,” the latter wrote in the description for Toxic Gossip Train Clone Hero Chart. But it was Clone Hero YouTuber Alec “Acai” Castillo who actually went on to get a perfect score on the cursed track. “This is the only thing that could bring me to actually watch the full apology LMAO,” wrote one commenter in response.
Ballinger’s video currently has over 7 million views and 900,000 downvotes, while Acai shredding on the Toxic Gossip Train has over 200,000 views and only 63 downvotes. While some Guitar Hero tracks are tests of twitch reflexes and rapid hand dexterity, the Miranda Sings apology chart is a test of stamina and the will to endure in the face of over 600 seconds of intense embarrassment. Ballinger has not yet resurfaced since publishing the original video.
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