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YouTuber ProJared accused of soliciting sexually explicit photos from underage fans

YouTuber ProJared accused of soliciting sexually explicit photos from underage fans

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Following his wife’s accusations of abusive behavior

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Popular YouTube gaming creator Jared “ProJared” Knabenbauer is being accused of soliciting nude photos from fans, including at least two people who were underage.

Knabenbauer is a gaming personality on YouTube with around 1 million subscribers who has appeared on other popular channels, including Game Grumps. But Knabenbauer has now been accused of abusive behavior toward his wife, popular cosplayer Heidi O’Ferrall, and asking that fans send him nude photos over a period of years. One of those fans claims Knabenbauer knew he was underage when it happened.

Knabenbauer later denied the accusations. “These allegations against me about being a predator against underage people are fundamentally false,” he said in a video posted to YouTube in August 2019, three months after this story was initially published. He said the accusers misled or lied to people for money and attention. Knabenbauer did not respond to a request for comment from The Verge before this story was first run.

While the alleged behaviors took place across multiple online platforms, they speak to the trouble platforms like YouTube face in protecting younger users from a fandom that can make them vulnerable to a predatory adult. Just last week, popular YouTuber Austin Jones was sentenced to 10 years in prison for soliciting sexually explicit photos from underage fans.

The first accusations surfaced late Wednesday night after Knabenbauer announced that he and O’Ferrall were filing for divorce. O’Ferrall then accused Knabenbauer of having gaslit and otherwise behaved abusively toward her, prompting other people to speak out about feeling used by Knabenbauer. Fans said Knabenbauer would often send unsolicited, sexually explicit photos to them on Snapchat or would send risqué photos unprompted.

Knabenbauer had been requesting nude photos from fans for years, O’Ferrall says. “In the beginning, it was a joke on Tumblr” meant for consenting adults, she writes. But eventually, O’Ferrall says it turned into “an abuse of power for him to intentionally manipulate anyone to show him their naked body on the basis that he’s a popular internet man.”

“He knew I was 16.”

One individual who goes by Chai said Knabenbauer had requested nude photos and “spoke sexually” to him while knowing he was 16. In a statement posted to Twitter, Chai alleges that Knabenbauer eventually sent him an explicit “dick pic,” and that he publicly posted one of the underage photos sent by Chai. “I sent him many actual, real nudes,” Chai said on Twitter. “He knew I was 16.”

Chai said that he deleted his Tumblr blog shortly after the encounter. “Jared told me I was awful, so lost all evidence” of these communications, he said. In a follow-up post, Chai said Knabenbauer knew that he “was a big fan, and that I was underage, and still wanted to talk sexually to me. He made me feel special and wanted.” Chai declined to comment further when reached by The Verge.

After this story was published, Knabenbauer sent an apology to Chai for “making you uncomfortable.” In his August YouTube video, he later said he had no recollection of corresponding with Chai and questioned whether Chai’s account was fabricated.

Another individual, who goes by Charlie, also posted a lengthy statement on Twitter describing experiences with Knabenbauer while underage. Charlie said they sent sexually explicit photos to Knabenbauer when they were around 15 or 16. Knabenbauer allegedly messaged Charlie back, calling them “beautiful.” Following multiple sexual conversations, Charlie says Knabenbauer invited them to a secret Tumblr where Knabenbauer posted sexually explicit photos of himself and snapshots sent in by fans.

In his video, Knabenbauer acknowledged corresponding with Charlie. Knabenbauer said that Charlie lied about being over 18 and that he never sent photos of himself to Charlie.

NormalBoots, the creator collective Knabenbauer belongs to, confirmed to The Verge in a statement that it was first tipped off about the allegations on April 4th, started an investigation, had planned to terminate him, and has since agreed to mutually part ways with the creator instead. Here’s the group’s statement:

On April 4, 2019, an unsolicited e-mail was sent to the NormalBoots business account containing allegations of inappropriate conduct pertaining to Jared Knabenbauer.

Upon receiving the e-mail, NormalBoots Manager, Jacque Khalil took immediate action to alert the appropriate parties, including Mr. Knabenbauer and the NormalBoots legal team, of the allegations. No other members of NormalBoots were made aware of the allegations while the investigation into the allegations was ongoing.

NormalBoots understands the seriousness of this situation and does not condone any of the alleged actions of Mr. Knabenbauer.

Prior to these allegations being made public, actions and measures were in process to terminate the affiliation of Mr. Knabenbauer from NormalBoots and to update its internal social media use policies. Mr. Knabenbauer and NormalBoots have mutually agreed to part ways.

What drives NormalBoots is the energy of our supporters. We care greatly about their protection and safety. It’s impossible to have a true community if all of us don’t feel safe, whether it’s in an online space or a convention. We are fully committed to this goal and will not tolerate less.

It appears that Chai was that tipster, and you can actually read some of the conversation between Normalboots and Chai. In an email from NormalBoots to Chai on April 5th, general manager Jacque Khalil agreed to conduct an investigation. “Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention, and for your anticipated cooperation.”

In another email to Chai, NormalBoots indicated that it had deleted copies of photos he’d sent to Knabenbauer. NormalBoots said the photos were “illegal to possess and we have deleted them in accordance with state and federal law.” Khalil also asked Chai not to send any more of the images involved in the case, as it is “illegal to create and transmit such images.”

In his initial statement about his divorce from O’Ferrall, Knabenbauer noted that people “may see a lot of rumors, speculation, and gossip going around. I ask that you make your own observations and come to your own conclusions.”

Still, many in the community have begun to distance themselves from the once-beloved YouTube personality. Game Grumps, an extremely popular creator collective, has started to delete past videos that Knabenbauer appeared in. Knabenbauer’s personal YouTube channel has lost approximately 30,000 subscribers over the last day, according to SocialBlade, and popular streamers like HBomberguy even live-streamed Knabenbauer’s channel falling below 1 million subscribers in light of the allegations.

YouTube declined to comment on this story.

Update, 7:37 PM ET: Added Normalboots’ statement, and that it has parted ways with Knabenbauer.

Update August 27th: Several months after this story was publish, Knabenbauer responded to the allegations described above, along with others, in a video on his YouTube channel, largely denying the claims. This piece has been updated to include his responses.