Redeem now - YouTuber Trisha Paytas said a former middle school teacher molested them and was arrested.
- But contradictions in Paytas' story have led to a massive wave of suspicion and criticism.
- On Friday, Paytas removed more than 1,300 videos from their YouTube channel.
Trisha Paytas, a long-time YouTuber and self-confessed internet troll whose redemption arc has spiraled in recent weeks, deleted more than 1,300 videos totaling over 1 billion views off their YouTube channel over the weekend.
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in.1,076,148,879 views disappeared from Paytas' channel on September 17, according to data from social-media analytics website SocialBlade, indicating that videos were removed from the channel.
Paytas, who uses "they" and "them" pronouns, had posted a video three days earlier apologizing for a "psychotic breakdown" captured in videos on Twitter in response to mounting criticism over alleged inconsistencies in an allegation about a former middle school teacher. Paytas claimed that a teacher molested them in class and was later arrested, but the details they provided about the teacher's supposed criminal record don't align with public records.
The September 14 video follows a wave of video exposés and resurfaced footage of Paytas, who has more than 5 million YouTube subscribers and is known for documenting everything from fast food drive-thru reviews to kitchen floor meltdowns. Viewers and YouTube commentary channels are now calling them a hypocrite and a liar, due to contradictory stories and accusations.
SocialBlade shows that Paytas currently has 1,675 videos on their channel, but an archived version of Paytas' YouTube channel from September 11 shows they had 2,982 videos just over a week ago. Some of the videos that were removed include videos where Paytas gossiped about or criticized other YouTubers.
Paytas, who didn't respond to Insider's request for comment, appears to have deleted the videos. One link to a video that was removed says, "This video has been removed by the uploader."
Paytas is accused of sharing conflicting stories about an alleged sexual assault
Previously, in an episode of the "H3 Podcast" spinoff series "Frenemies" and in at least two TikToks, Paytas accused their sixth-grade teacher of molesting them as a child. Paytas urged their audience to Google the man's name, claiming that viewers would find evidence that he was arrested years later for viewing child pornography at school.
However, a YouTuber with 45,000 subscribers who goes by Mysterious pointed out in a widely-viewed YouTube exposé that no search results indicate the man, who died in 2019, was ever arrested. A further review of public records by Insider similarly failed to yield records indicating an arrest occurred.
In response, "H3 Podcast" host Ethan Klein, who previously hosted the "Frenemies" podcast with Paytas, removed the episode that included Paytas' accusation, and Paytas tweeted purported texts between Paytas and Klein that show Paytas saying they were "told inaccurate information" and "misspoke" about their former teacher.
In the September 14 video, Paytas seemed to acknowledge the allegations their teacher had been arrested were false, saying they don't "fact-check." Paytas emphasized, however, that they believe there's a difference between "misspeaking" and lying with malicious intent.
Paytas is fighting back against the "hate," which they've referred to as harassment. According to Mysterious, Paytas issued a privacy strike against her video, causing it to be removed for violating YouTube's terms of service. According to YouTube, the video was removed in accordance with the platform's privacy guidelines.
But allies and sponsors appear to be reconsidering their stance on Paytas, including the manufacturers of Paytas' skincare line and fellow YouTuber Tana Mongeau.
Brands and collaborators are distancing themselves from Paytas
On June 7, Paytas announced a skincare product partnership with Glow Skin Enhancement, an independent beauty manufacturer, selling a seven-piece skincare kit for $199.
The product website for Paytas' skincare line shows an error page as of Tuesday morning. According to images circulating on social media, when asked by followers why the product was no longer available for purchase, the Glow Skin Enhancement Instagram account responded that the company had been receiving "very disturbing" hate messages due to the partnership and that it was "best to remove for now."
Wilson didn't respond to Insider's request for comment.
YouTuber Tana Mongeau, who launched a podcast in July with Paytas as her first guest, removed the episode with Paytas without explanation on Saturday, one day after Paytas removed their own videos.
During the podcast, Paytas said they were molested by a teacher when they were six years old. Paytas previously claimed that they were molested in the sixth grade. Critics have pointed to this as a contradiction, although Paytas did not specify whether they were referring to the same teacher.
A representative for Mongeau told Insider the video was falsely flagged by Paytas' critics, implying that YouTube removed the video. But the link to Mongeau's since-removed video reads, "The uploader has not made this video available." YouTube also attributed the video's removal to the uploader.
It also appears that Mongeau has unfollowed Paytas on Instagram.
Paytas said they wished they could 'take back' their habit of speculating about others online
Since Paytas quit "Frenemies" in June over ownership and payment disputes, they have attributed hate and harassment to users on the r/H3H3productions subreddit, which appears to be moderated by Klein and his team. Paytas said in their September 14 video that users were spreading sexual assault accusations against Moses Hacmon, who is Paytas' fiancée and Klein's brother-in-law.
Two women who say they dated Hacmon have accused him of "stealthing," the act of removing a condom during sex without a partner's consent. Last week, the California legislature unanimously voted to ban stealthing.
Paytas said the accusations against Hacmon were false and that Klein and his wife Hila — Hacmon's sister — were perpetuating rumors and hate against Paytas and Hacmon.
In response, Klein tweeted, "I have not even mentioned their allegations once on the podcast. She is lying and saying it's our fault, we have NOTHING to do with this 'hate mob.'"
The backlash against Paytas is ongoing. A Change.org petition calling to ban them from all social media platforms has been recirculating (it was started two years ago) and now has more than 101,000 signatures.
"They want me off the internet. I've been on the internet since 2006, long before most people, doing this," Paytas said in the September 17 video. "I work online. I'm not leaving. I want to live harmoniously."
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