Top 10 Popular Influencers Who Turned Out to Be Terrible People

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They had millions of followers, massive brand deals, and loyal fanbases — until their dark sides were exposed. In this countdown, we reveal the Top 10 Popular Influencers Who Turned Out to Be Terrible People, from shocking scandals to disturbing controversies that destroyed their reputations.  Get ready for lies, betrayals, criminal charges, and internet drama that prove fame doesn’t always mean integrity.  🔥 LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more shocking internet scandals and influencer stories!

Transcript

00:00Obviously, you don't need an introduction, but you do need a disclaimer.

00:04I like that.

00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most disgraceful online creators who shocked fans worldwide with their scandals.

00:12I am so sorry if this situation made any of you feel more stressed or uncomfortable or sad than you already do.

00:21Logan Paul.

00:22From Vine to YouTube and now the WWE ring, this online personality has somehow maintained his following,

00:29despite multiple major controversies.

00:31I've made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgment, and I don't expect to be forgiven.

00:38I'm simply here to apologize.

00:40In 2017, he uploaded disrespectful footage of Japan's Okigahata forest on YouTube.

00:45The same year, he came under fire for his song, No Handlebars, which was criticized for sexualizing women.

00:51I can ride your girl with no handlebars.

00:55I can ride your girl with no handlebars.

00:59After a few relatively quiet years, he blew up again in 2023, when he was accused of fraud over a game he co-founded, called CryptoZoo.

01:07Paul's brother Jake doesn't exactly have a clean reputation either.

01:10He's been accused of racism, sexual assault, scams, and was openly a COVID-19 denier.

01:16Yet, the Paul brother's popularity is showing no signs of slowing down.

01:20Still, I'm the maverick, bro.

01:21Like, to this day, like, that's my brand.

01:23Micah and James Stauffer.

01:25Family vlogging is one of the most popular niches on YouTube.

01:28Hi guys, and welcome back to my channel.

01:30Today, Jim and I have a very big surprise and secret that we want to share with you guys.

01:35Micah and James Stauffer rose to prominence on the platform through their family vlogs.

01:39Some of their most successful videos were those where they discussed their parenting journey.

01:43Their channel grew even more when they shared the story of how they adopted a baby boy, Huxley, from China.

01:49I am so excited for this video.

01:51Today, I get to share with you a picture of my new son, which is awesome.

01:57However, after a short time, Huxley had been rehomed by the Stauffers.

02:01The couple claimed that they couldn't adequately care for the child, who was on the autism spectrum.

02:06Subscribers immediately turned on the family, accusing them of adopting the kid for cash and clout.

02:11Micah and James have since left YouTube, while Huxley, who now has another name, is in a better home.

02:17You want to believe that it's real, that she really did have a connection with him.

02:21James Charles.

02:22This beauty YouTuber's career came crashing down due to repeated controversies.

02:27First, he was accused of making advances toward a heterosexual man by his close friend, Tadi Westbrook.

02:32Hey you guys, welcome to today's video.

02:35Obviously, from the title, you know that this is going to be intense, different,

02:39and this is absolutely not a video I ever thought in a million years that I would be making.

02:45Although the tide turned in his favor eventually, more serious allegations followed.

02:50Several underage male accusers claimed James had sent them inappropriate messages and photos.

02:55The MUA took accountability for two of those accusations,

02:58but emphasized that he didn't know the boys involved were minors.

03:01I will not ask for sympathy and I will definitely not ask for forgiveness either,

03:05but I will ask that you watch this entire thing all the way through

03:08before forming any further opinions or talking about this story more.

03:12One of his alleged victims admitted that he had lied to James about being 18.

03:16Just when things were looking up for the creator,

03:18he got involved with fellow influencer Evan Johnson,

03:21who was arrested in April 2025 for domestic assault.

03:24James denied having a relationship with him, but lost followers nonetheless.

03:27With those blessings come a lot of people that see those blessings as an opportunity for themselves

03:34to either come up or get financial gain or get followers or attention

03:38or take me down with them, which has been attempted.

03:42Belle Gibson, this Aussie influencer, serves as a cautionary tale

03:46against believing everything you see on the internet.

03:49Hundreds of thousands of sympathetic followers and fellow sufferers

03:52live every step of her journey and celebrate her success

03:56as she becomes the poster girl for the alternative wellness industry.

04:00There's an award-winning app and a cookbook.

04:03Belle Gibson has made it.

04:04Except it's all a lie.

04:06She lied about living with cancer, treating it with alternative medicine,

04:10a strict diet of whatever she considered to be healthy foods,

04:13and working out, misleading countless followers.

04:16She was rolling in dough from successfully launching an app and a cookbook

04:20while faking donations to charities.

04:22When I was writing that, I thought that I did, and I was feeling well.

04:26Yes, but even then you misrepresented what you thought was your truth,

04:31which was all a big lie anyway.

04:33In 2015, she admitted to fabricating her cancer diagnosis

04:36and was ultimately fined $258,000 by the Federal Court of Australia.

04:42Gibson's elaborate scam is the subject of the Netflix documentary

04:46The Search for Instagram's Worst Con Artists

04:48and the crime drama Apple Cider Vinegar, starring Caitlin Dever.

04:52I didn't know where to turn or who to trust.

04:55I felt unsupported, unmotivated, and uninspired.

05:00You may not have cancer, but maybe you feel that way too.

05:03Ruby Frankie

05:03The infamous creator of the 8 Passengers YouTube channel

05:07is another toxic product of the family vlogging culture.

05:09Ruby Frankie

05:11Ironically, she'd been a high-flying Mormon momfluencer,

05:15attracting 2.5 million followers on her YouTube channel.

05:188 Passengers

05:19Ruby's personal brand built around tough love

05:23Ruby Frankie's entire claim to fame was her family of six children.

05:27However, viewers soon started noticing the disturbing modes of discipline she used with them,

05:32from allegedly blaming her son from sleeping in his bed

05:34to sending her daughter to school without lunch.

05:36Her punishments were reportedly severe and problematic.

05:39People who watched 8 Passengers were the ones to first kind of ring the alarm.

05:44Things finally came to a head after she started making parenting advice content with her colleague,

05:49Counselor Jodi Hildebrandt.

05:51In 2023, Ruby's young son escaped from Jodi's house

05:54and showed up injured at a neighbor's place, seeking sustenance.

05:58One of her daughters was also emaciated.

06:00Both Ruby and Jodi were arrested and sentenced to prison.

06:03Frank told the judge she would not argue for a shorter sentence.

06:07She says she was under the influence of her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt.

06:12Colleen Ballinger.

06:13This creator built her empire on young fans' support

06:16and went on to be accused of behaving inappropriately with minors.

06:19Recently, some things have come up that I feel like I need to address,

06:22and so I just wanted to sit down and have an honest conversation with you

06:25and address everything at once.

06:27Colleen, best known for her character Miranda Sings,

06:30was cancelled after YouTubers Adam McIntyre and Cody Dahl accused her of misconduct.

06:36The former claimed she had sent him undergarments

06:38and explicit images of Trisha Paytas when he was underage.

06:42This is something that really, really, really affected me and is a big part of my life.

06:45Dahl said she asked him improper questions online when he was a minor.

06:49A staff member on the set of her Netflix show, Haters Back Off,

06:53also opened up about her alleged racism.

06:55This wasn't surprising, given Colleen's history of culturally insensitive content.

07:00If all this wasn't bad enough, she made an apology video while playing the ukulele,

07:04undermining the seriousness of the accusations.

07:07My team has strongly advised me to not say what I want to say.

07:11I recently realized that they never said that I couldn't sing what I want to say.

07:16Jeffrey Starr.

07:17Anyone unfamiliar with this media personality probably wouldn't know how controversial he is

07:21simply because he seems to be doing so well.

07:24It's a really wild journey, and I think a lot of people just know a lot of, like, half-truths.

07:28His YouTube channel has millions of subscribers,

07:31and his beauty brand, Jeffrey Starr Cosmetics, is still in business.

07:34However, he has faced numerous scandals in his career.

07:38Jeffrey is reportedly racist, using Nazi imagery on his website,

07:42which was disturbingly named Lipstick Nazi,

07:45and even had allegations of sexual assault made against him.

07:48Does that make it okay?

07:49Absolutely not.

07:51To make matters worse, he was accused of paying his supposed victims to keep mum about his indecency.

07:57Starr lawyered up, claiming there was no truth to the accusations, and moved on.

08:02Now, he's so infamous for his questionable opinions,

08:05even cancel culture seems to have given up on him.

08:07Hi, how are ya?

08:09Yes, it's finally time.

08:10You know, Jeffree Starr Cosmetics always brings you the hottest summer makeup collections,

08:14and baby, do we have a doozy for you?

08:16Andrew Tate, the kickboxer-turned-face of the manosphere,

08:20is a self-proclaimed misogynist who thrives by espousing toxic masculinity.

08:24I'm very open and honest about the way I think about things,

08:27and I say them exactly how I think them,

08:29and sometimes if they aggravate or antagonize people,

08:32I enjoy that because it allows me to read their emotional leakage or get a read on them as an individual.

08:38This has earned him millions of supporters across social media,

08:41many of whom are not even old enough to understand harmful manosphere concepts,

08:45like involuntary celibacy.

08:47His dangerous influence on young minds is explored in Netflix's viral hit show, Adolescence.

08:53It's the involuntary celibate stuff, it's the Andrew Tate shite.

08:58Tate is also known to sell online courses that the BBC believes may be associated with the exploitation of women.

09:04In 2022, he was arrested in Romania and later charged with alleged sexual assault,

09:10trafficking, and organized criminal activities.

09:12Meanwhile, police are looking into whether his purported victims were minors.

09:16He's facing similar legal charges in the UK and the US.

09:20Shockingly, Tate's popularity is hardly fading.

09:23Once again, what does it matter what I think?

09:24Rob, I've given up.

09:25Rob, I've given up trying to save the world.

09:28Ladarius Morshin Brownlee

09:29If you've ever been on the couple content side of TikTok,

09:32you've probably come across the account Dino and Zara.

09:35What's a soulmate?

09:36It's a...

09:39Yeah, it's like a best friend, but more.

09:41The pair running it, Ladarius Morshin Brownlee, and his girlfriend,

09:45Saida Ashimi, had a considerable fan base who adored their seemingly perfect relationship.

09:50However, that illusion was shattered.

09:53When Brownlee was reportedly arrested for shooting Hashimi after an argument turned physical.

09:57The affidavit says Brownlee confessed.

10:00First on a 911 call, and then two investigators.

10:03Luckily, she survived, but allegedly sustained a traumatic brain injury.

10:07Ladarius claimed their relationship had always been abusive,

10:09and seemingly admitted to shooting her, according to reports.

10:13Not long after the incident, social media was abuzz with speculation

10:16that the two had gotten back together.

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10:32Ali Abdullaban, also known as Jin Kid, shot his wife Anna and her friend, Rayburn Cardenas Barron,

10:54to death in 2021.

10:56His abusive behavior toward Anna was public knowledge,

10:58as it was often seen on his live streams.

11:01How those videos even earned views without raising red flags is a different question entirely.

11:06He just became super jealous because his wife was going out with friends,

11:09and he wasn't involved, and he wanted to control her.

11:12He wanted to know what she was doing every time of the day.

11:14Abdullaban was found guilty of the deaths of both Anna and Rayburn,

11:18but the judge doubted whether he was ever regretful.

11:20The criminal maintained that he had substances in his system when he committed the heinous act,

11:24calling it a crime of passion.

11:26Either way, Ali is not going to be stepping out of prison again in his lifetime.

11:30The bottom line here is he will die in prison.

11:33He will never be a free man.

11:34Were you ever caught off guard by an influencer you trusted?

11:37Tell us in the comments.

11:38Ruby Frankie sat expressionless,

11:41a far cry from the bubbly momfluencer of Eight Passengers fame.

11:50Who were you under the dope hits?

11:54Who did die in prison?

11:55Why didn't I kill this bitch because the rally go under the root of an enemy

12:00that made good in prison as an enemy?

12:03Because their control were stopped there

12:05because they felt rid of theigrade of the integrity of thearded woman that killed the demon.

12:10And that would have called him to nuance another job.

12:12You know what time was the Great Kissa fiber.

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