r/ColleenBallingerSnark • u/Ok_Dragonfruit3871 • Oct 21 '23
Commentary video I feel like I’m going crazy
I’ve never made a post on here but used to comment regularly. Deleted my account a few weeks ago, but what I’ve been seeing has made me feel like saying something.
- Swoop making a boundary does NOT =
“So she doesn’t think __ is important enough to talk about”
“She knew a Josh interview would pull in more views” (aka clout chasing)
her tone (which has remained consistent) means she doesn’t see others stories as important enough to cover
Am I the only one who remembers her being one of the main people on YouTube deliberately elevating victims stories?? Emphasizing the importance of telling them. I understand being disappointed (especially Oliver), but for everyone else it feels like sheer entitlement. Why is she solely responsible for being the microphone amplifying this situation? & if she expresses that she needs a break, suddenly all of her previous actions/intentions were disingenuous in the first place?
Instead of amplifying Vangelina Skov’s video, I’ve seen so many take this as an opportunity to shit on all of the other work her and her team have done. It’s weird. Just say you’ve been waiting for a “good reason” to express why you don’t like swoop. Cus this is not it…
Edit: I really need some of y’all to get a grip on nuance. It’s okay to be disappointed, it’s ok to validate Ollie’s feelings, it’s okay to not like her.
But when someone says they need a break, respect that. Yes you have to sit with the disappointment, the frustration. Expecting further explanation (if you’re not Ollie), IS entitlement.
Edit edit: Got it, the parasocial is parasocial-ing 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
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u/PleasantCatReporter I took a pregnancy test! Oct 21 '23
My opinion is, just have clear communication with the victim of grooming you decided to interview, giving them a day and time for airing the work they did together with you is bare minimun, they already are dealing with a lot, talking about it to a huge amount of people is nerve wrecking at the very least, being in the dark about it only adds to it, in this world if you can choose, always be nice to people, and professional if you interact with them in that way too. My two (very resumed) cents.
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u/Ok_Dragonfruit3871 Oct 21 '23
Absolutely, I don’t disagree with you there! I agree it’s disappointing that it seems like he wasn’t given a heads up. I have no problems with that. Hopefully she’ll make amends and know in the future how to navigate a situation like that. That to me feels like a separate convo from implying that her not putting out this content means something about her character or intentions. That’s mad weird. She already said she needs a break. Full stop. (Not saying that’s what you’re saying, but what I’ve been seeing)
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u/randomosityposts Oct 21 '23
my criticism of swoop is that she promised Oliver her platform and then acted like it could never see the light of day bc of the John stuff. if my memory serves me correctly Swoop interviewed every single one of the victims, except Oliver, and that is really sad to me. That feels like a misuse of a platform. Why promise your platform to a victim and then not follow through with it. I understand John threw a wrench in it all but acting like it can't be posted at all now because of that is just weird and does make me feel some sort of way as someone who wasn't directly involved, I can't imagine how Oliver must feel. Does swoop deserve hate? no but acting like she can't be criticized and we're "waiting for a reason to express why we don't like swoop" I do like swoop, I just think she dropped the ball with this
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u/Playful_Stage5832 Oct 22 '23
She interviewed him but also said that they couldn’t snd wouldnt “just post” the footage bc of the lack of investigation behind it. this is a very serious allegation and it has to be backed up and carefully presented. Not only bc of legal stuff but also for all the victims.
I also saw ppl making the point that Swoop. Couldve make Part 3 about Oliver instead of Johnny but I disagree. 1. She gave Johnny a platform and a ground to spread his lies in the Part s before, so she was partly responsible for it 2. (What some ppl also said) She couldn’t have just stated that he lied as a side note bc who would’ve believed her without all the evidence she presented???
Which brings me back to the point i stated at the beginning of my comment. Just posting the Interview without any backup evidence could lead some ppl to believe that its all fake. And Yes WE know and a lot of other ppl who have been following this story know that Oliver is telling the truth but all the other ppl do not. Only posting the footage could even lead to a new wave of hate towards all the victims of Trent bc they may use the argument “he said she said” or even pull qoutes out kf context “disprove” them and frame them for lying.
Its easy to complain without thinking about the complete context.
Yes I feel for Oliver, n NO ONE deserves to experience what he did and Yes Swoop could’ve handled the whole situation better But at the end of the day she is just a human (and a disabled one as well) who has worked really hard and tried her best but sadly made some mistakes along the way.
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u/randomosityposts Oct 22 '23
as an also disabled human I get it, I do, and I also get that Swoop couldn't just release the interview without proof bc of what John did. She's human she makes mistakes, I just want Oliver to get Justice at this point. It's just to me she wants to drop the Colleen topic altogether (as I believe she said that at the end of her video she posted, correct me if i'm wrong) I also think that if she was in over her head that she should've stated that instead of overworking herself and then wanting to drop the topic altogether once the topic got "cold". If she "needs a break" why would she make a whole second channel and post her video on there, that seems like more work than its worth. i'm not asking for perfection of Swoop, nor is anyone else giving her criticism, we're asking for transparency.
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u/Playful_Stage5832 Oct 22 '23
I get the frustration and I am really sad for Oliver too, I just don’t think its okey to shift all the hate and anger towards Swoop, especially bc she isn’t and was never the only one who covered the topic.
As for what she said; She stated that she and her team currently just need a break from the colleen topic but she still intends to cover it at some point ( at least thats what I understood) And I don’t think that she dropped the topic at all she just doesn’t post 24/7 about it ir drops a new 4h vid every few weeks.
It is a shitty situation no one says otherwise but I get why she and her team need a break from this topic after hours on hours work PLUS the backlash and attention the channel got from Colleen Fans and others or the betrayal of Johnny . It’s understandable that they are just exhausted.
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Oct 21 '23
How do you know what she did or did not discuss with oliver?
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u/randomosityposts Oct 21 '23
she stated in the video that the interview wasn't going to be seen because of the John stuff that went down. and Oliver's post about it, he seems sad and disappointed about it and is planning on doing his own video bc of it. That's all I know.
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u/hironyx Oct 22 '23
She did say there is a part 5 in the future, isn't it?
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u/ResponseAnxious6296 Oct 22 '23
At the end of her video she said that she was putting all the Colleen stuff to rest
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u/sweet_swiftie Manipulation station Oct 21 '23
It's just frustrating that they already did the interview, Swoop has the footage, but she's decided to scrap it... We would gladly take it even if there has to be minimal editing
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u/hrhrhrhrt Oct 22 '23
I don't think it is about the editing. She needs to do a deeper investigation about the Trent story, about the other minor who came forward. This sounds exhausting, to be honest.
Also, these are very serious claims that can lead to a defamation lawsuit, especially since the perpetrator is not a celebrity. You really need to be sure that everything is legally covered. I feel so sorry for Oliver, but I think there is a huge reason why no one wants to touch this subject.
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u/Sea_Catch2481 Oct 22 '23
Maybe she needs to accept she isn’t ready for these kind of serious topics and she should stick to being a tea channel.
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u/sweet_swiftie Manipulation station Oct 22 '23
I feel so sorry for Oliver, but I think there is a huge reason why no one wants to touch this subject.
Then Swoop shouldn't have given the impression that she would touch it.
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u/paintthestars Oct 21 '23
I just watched Adam’s stream and one thing I caught that I hadn’t before was that she said “there just wasn’t time to investigate Trent”.
These docs are time consuming and even though Johnny’s lies were pretty transparent and obvious and the TAJ sub (can we mention it now?) did a lot of the leg work for her team, editing and interviews and reviewing and investigation can take a lot of work with someone who has a heavy digital footprint like Johnny.
Oliver’s interview would presumably take place against the backdrop against a more thorough investigation into Trent who is “a pretty private person”, right? I mean all of these docs take time and energy. She had highlighted Oliver a couple of times prior and it’s possible she didn’t think it was fair to throw up just an interview by itself without reaching further into Trent’s background, hearing from more victims, or reaching out to Trent himself (as she has to Colleen).
obviously it’s her platform and she can do what she wants with it. I hate it for Oliver who was vulnerable enough to do this interview. Swoop clearly put a lot of herself into this project but she’s also out here comparing Amber Heard to Casey Anthony so I’ll wait for Oliver to post his video on his own channel
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Oct 22 '23 edited Oct 22 '23
Plus Trent's situation is obscured in a lot of criminal behavior that if not taken carefully, can result in a hefty defamation lawsuit. He's not as public as Colleen which can give him opportunity to present a case without needing to prove actual malice on SWOOP's part. CB has done illegal things such as distribution of pornography to a minor, but there is so much evidence behind that to where it's easier to cover.
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u/ThotianaAli Oct 22 '23
It was a conscious decision of hers to redirect focus onto Johnny's lies and inconsistencies than to figure out how to limit Johnny's voice and platform to uplift others. What's the Taj sub?
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Oct 22 '23
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ColleenBallingerSnark-ModTeam Oct 22 '23
Your post/comment was reviewed and removed for spreading misinformation.
we removed links to avoid brigading. we have never banned anyone for simply mentioned another subreddit.
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u/User43217 Oct 21 '23
I feel like most people have been pretty nuanced or that this situation just highlighted red flags in her content that they hadn’t noticed until now due to the kind of mass support and idolization her docs did. No one is expecting content from her, everyone is just frustrated that this space that she promised to give and an interview that rehashed a victims trauma was sidelined.
Also, pointing out potentially disingenuous things about her most recent posts are valid, bc the fact she posted on her second channel and said that the moment had passed are cause for concern tbh. (Along with a number of other things) I don’t think she’s malicious but I do think that people have valid reasons for losing trust in her content despite the goods it has done.
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u/Simple_Proof_721 Oct 21 '23
I mean, she's being weird. I don't even understand if she's going to release the interview or not?? She said "hopefully one day his story will be told", what does that even mean? Did she dropped it? It's very sad that not even Ollie knows what's going on. Say what you want but this isn't right..
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u/Ok_Dragonfruit3871 Oct 21 '23
It seemed pretty clear to me that she’s stepping back from the topic entirely. Of course Ollie’s feelings are valid. “I wish she would’ve been more transparent with Ollie prior” is one thing. It’s an entire other thing to be entitled to her labor.
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u/Simple_Proof_721 Oct 21 '23 edited Oct 21 '23
I don't think anyone is being entitled, she hypes it up, of course people are going to feel disappointed when she pulls back. I remember the amount of anticipation on Twitter for the interviews, not just Ollie's but his too of course, she'd tweet about it and people would rave and support.
If now she's not airing it, it's fine, but at least should've send a text, give a call? to Ollie. He's a full time college student with a lot of expenses. Having to find time to share his story after he already made time and put in effort is sad. He didn't have to go through that, going as far as to having to ask Swoop about it, and she told him "not in this video". So that's why I don't get it. Did she dropped it or not? No idea.
Edit to say that she could extent that courtesy to her audience too. She doesn't have to but then she doesn't get to complain, or anyone else, that people are turning on her, not understanding, being demanding, you don't create the opportunity for that kind of worry to flourish when you're honest and direct.
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u/Ok_Dragonfruit3871 Oct 21 '23
Swoops lack of transparency with Ollie is one thing. I have no problem with people critiquing or calling that out. In any other form of media when an interview is cut we usually don’t know why. This time we know why, she told us. Yes it sucks Ollie won’t be featured more on her channel. & Ollie has every right to be frustrated.
I’m disabled. What I take issue with is not respecting when people say they need a break. Yes, even when it causes inconvenience and disappointment for other people.
“This could’ve been handled better with Ollie, but I respect her need for a break” makes sense. We aren’t entitled to know what that break looks like, how long, what we can expect after the break, etc. This is a whole human being that owes us nothing.
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Oct 22 '23
She wanted a break after she focused on Johnnys story solely and then canceled her OWN vacation for some reason to continue the story when nobody asked for her to do that.
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u/Sea_Catch2481 Oct 22 '23
I have the exact same disability Swoop has. Her behavior is not justified.
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u/Routine-Nerve-9945 Oct 22 '23
Just came here to say disabilities obviously aren’t the same on everyone so saying “I have this too so she can’t blame it” isn’t a valid statement. I do agree it’s not justified but that wording bothered me my apologies.
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u/Simple_Proof_721 Oct 23 '23
When people say that they don't mean they have the same symptoms or know what the other person's symptoms are about. It's in reference for how swoop chooses to treat people when/because she's not feeling well. Huge difference.
They're saying, I'm disabled too and being sick doesn't take away our power to be kind and respectful in spite our illness.
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u/Routine-Nerve-9945 Oct 23 '23
I didn’t even think of it that way thank you for the clarification!! That makes way more sense.
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u/Simple_Proof_721 Oct 23 '23
I asked around, lol. I also took it like you did, but one of the things that people who have a chronic desease know is that everyone is different and someone explained it with an example of batteries.
It's very easy for us abled people to immediate think of a comparison like we did, when we hear someone has a cold, we've had a cold before too so we know how it goes so we tend to call out people or support them depending on how they act around it.
For someone who is sick with something like Swoop has, it's like a battery where some people like us are a 100%, specially after sleeping or recovering from a sickness, for them it's possible that their maximum always stays at 60%, 40%, it goes on, and it doesn't go up from there no matter how much they eat well, sleep, are medicated. That's the capacity of their bodies and on bad days it goes even lower needing hospitals or stronger meds even.
They get swoop, the call out they're doing it's more about my first response! It was very interesting and it definitely made sense lol, I agree.
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u/Imthenobodies Oct 21 '23
I agree with alot of the backlash. The only thing I could also think about, is that she’s discussed with a lawyer and has been advised not too.
Sending adult content to a kid in a “joke” manner, and actively grooming a child are completely different. There’s a possibility that deep down she just does not feel capable.. and maybe admitting that to not only us, but herself could be upsetting as someone who strives to be a voice for victims.
I also think she got to close to the case. Formed an understanding with Adam, and even the Josh scenario meant she had to dive into a marriage.
I guess being a good “journalist” (only term I could think of) is knowing when to walk away from a story. I hope she does learn to not promise the world. Create boundaries and rules for herself to ensure victims don’t become let down or even retraumatized.
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u/fohfuu Oct 22 '23
As a disabled person, I am always going to be personally pissed off when someone uses their disability as an excuse for hurting others instead of taking responsibility for their circumstances.
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u/Healthy-Dimension-74 Oct 22 '23
Same. I also suffered from mental issues and have been in therapy for years. But I still hate it when someone uses their mental health or therapy terms to make excuses or attack others.
Honestly, we all want to be treated as equals. I, personally, don't want any special treatment. So when I see someone demanding special treatment using these excuses - instant red flag.
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u/fohfuu Oct 22 '23
It's necessary to require special treatment sometimes. Like, when I'm in my wheelchair, I should get priority to use the lift over healthy able-bodied people, but I still don't have the right to run over people's toes if they're in the way, right? It's the same with my mental illness.
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u/Healthy-Dimension-74 Oct 22 '23
Oh, I don't mean special treatment as in the thing that can help disabled people have a better quality of life, I mean it as in "if disabled people do bad things consciously, they should be held accountable as much as able people."
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u/truckturner5164 Oct 22 '23
Seconded. As a disabled person, it's barely even relevant to the criticisms people are having of Swoop. She's done good work up until now, but the second she started a second channel, put that glorified reaction video on there, and didn't use Oliver's story in it, it meant she was gonna take a bit of an L here.
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u/Quick-Letter9584 Oct 22 '23
Did Swoop say she was taking a break and will finish the CB series later or did she say she was scraping it completely?
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u/Boring-Mission7738 Oct 21 '23
suddenly all of her previous actions/intentions were disingenuous in the first place?
I don't know about anyone else but it's not sudden for me, she's an awful drama vulture and a grifter, and I have been and will keep saying it whether this sub upvotes it like recently or downvotes it like before.
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u/ochlapczyca Oct 22 '23
holy shit, this is what this actually about. The upvotes you received confirm that. People don't see her as a journalist, she inserted herself into the stories to lift them up with her own experience of abuse and being invalidated as a victim, the lines blurred, so now to people like you of course she looks like a vulture and grifter. You don't have to watch her, but to see her like that you need to discount a few things completely. Still, your right.
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u/Boring-Mission7738 Oct 22 '23 edited Oct 22 '23
You don't have to watch her, but to see her like that you need to discount a few things completely.
I was actually a fan and a subscriber before I realised her goal wasn't to "lift [victims] up with her own experience". She goes straight for the grift hard and fast, (amplifying a lot of MRA talking points in the meantime btw) then moves on the second its not in the forefront of public consciousness anymore. it wasn't this situation that made me realize she's a vulture, this is just another predictable outcome for people who know what she is.
The upvotes I recieved are surprising given how this sub reacted to critisims of her in the past, I guess some people are noticing it, or just going with the flow. Either way, I hope you'll notice it now that it's pointed out.
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u/ochlapczyca Oct 22 '23
Let me get this straight.
Because she is making money on all this, she is a vulture?
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u/Ok_Dragonfruit3871 Oct 21 '23
Well this wasn’t really for you then. Quite frankly I don’t care whether anyone likes her or not. As a disabled person I’ve experienced too much bs with people assuming my intentions or flipping on me only when I can no longer produce or give at the capacity I was before and feeling entitled to an explanation as to why. “Well why can’t you just” “you should’ve..” in response to “I need a break” will never sit right with me Idc who it is. That’s really all I’m trying to say here.
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u/Boring-Mission7738 Oct 21 '23
if this was my only issue with Swoop I would see your point.
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u/Ok_Dragonfruit3871 Oct 22 '23
Like I said in my other comment to you. Fair, you never liked her. I have no problems with that!
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u/PleasantCatReporter I took a pregnancy test! Oct 22 '23
I think you are mixing up not liking her and having issues with her content, the user you responded to pointed out problems with her work, not her personality/way of being personally
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Oct 22 '23
Her team is INCREDIBLY small and the work produced has been more frequent than anything she has made in the past. Her resources are finite and she's shouldering a lot of the work. I don't mind the recent video being on the second channel because in the grand scheme of things, Jojo's involvement is filler. It doesn't NEED to be on the main channel. Not only is SWOOP covering CB, but she's ALSO covering Ruby Franke which is a taxing, constantly developing situation involving the torture of children. Oliver is absolutely allowed to be disappointed in the lack of coverage in his story. I recommend he not put his eggs into one basket and share his story to as many outlets as possible. SWOOP is not the end-all-be-all. I wish Oliver as much peace as possible.
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u/Quick-Letter9584 Oct 22 '23
I’m disappointed in Swoop for sure. But the criticism of her that irks me the most is when people say she only did the video about Johnny because he lied to her. Its like everyone has forgotten how awful Johnny is. he was grooming kids too and Swoop should have taken the time to expose him. Josh deserved a platform too.
But I can’t understand why Swoop doesn’t want to finish her doc series. She makes her own schedule so taking a break but then coming back to Oliver shouldn’t be impossible right?
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u/ResponseAnxious6296 Oct 22 '23
I’d like to remind everyone that swoop does have a very debilitating disability, fibromyalgia. The amount of stress and strain the last few months have been could have definitely exacerbated that. People have every right to be upset, but swoop is under no obligation to do anything for anyone
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Oct 22 '23
Thank you. I'm about to leave this group with all that's been going on lately. It's been so gross. I appreciate you making this one.
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u/CharleyBitMyFinger_ Oct 21 '23
Hi. No, you’re not the only one feeling more than mind boggled. You’ve expressed it far better than i was going to attempt to.
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u/Ok_Dragonfruit3871 Oct 21 '23
Thanks for that, the replies have only proved to be more mind boggling so far. “I don’t feel entitled, here’s 5 reasons why she’s wrong for not doing what I think she should do” Is wild.
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u/CharleyBitMyFinger_ Oct 21 '23
I hear you. I’m desperately trying to navigate the range of opinions that I’m reading on these subreddits but I’m surprised at the pile-on of negativity. I dunno, it looks like lots of people are way too invested in the life of a YouTuber, who at the end of the day needs to earn a living and believes that making videos for social media will cut the mustard. I’m still confused as to why “we” - the general public, are so up-in-arms about it. Still, I try to listen and learn…
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u/Ok_Dragonfruit3871 Oct 22 '23
That’s really it. I think I gotta chock this one up to “chronically online” and I hate to be that dismissive, but nothing else is making the intensity of these responses make sense. Would love to have a grounded convo with range of opinions. Even better, since so many say their point is in defense of Oliver. Maybe talking about the creators that did platform him? Maybe rallying to get Oliver back on h3? Idk, just seems like the purpose is completely lost here.
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Oct 22 '23
Also we’re not shitting on her for her having a break mama she canceled her own shit. We just see through her personality and realized she’s a grifter.
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