Over the weekend, popular YouTuber and internet personality Cody Ko became a trending topic on X (formerly Twitter). Rarely does it bode well. Why? Another popular YouTuber, D’Angelo Wallace, released a 15-minute video resurfacing allegations that Ko had sex with fellow YouTuber Tana Mongeau several years ago. Mongeau was 17 and Ko was 25 at the time. Wallace’s video prompted fans and social media onlookers to reexamine accusations that some believe Ko covered up, accusations that also involved other well-known YouTubers. Below is my best attempt to explain the latest drama brewing in and around YouTube’s content creator ecosystem.
To understand exactly, who are Cody Ko and Tana Mongeau?
Cody Ko (33) began his internet career on the short-form video app Vine, building a solid following by the time the app was shut down in 2017. After Vine, Ko began to focus more on his YouTube content, where his comedic reaction videos with frequent collaborator Noel Miller began to gain popularity. Ko’s commentary videos, which critique other internet personalities and online influencing trends such as NFTs, have also become popular. Ko and Miller are also known for their satirical rap project under the moniker “Tiny Meat Gang,” which is also the title of their collaborative podcast. The popularity of their podcast led to the formation of a media network, Tiny Meat Gang Studios, which has since grown to house multiple podcasts. Needless to say, Ko is a well-known and well-liked figure who has had success as a content creator, with multiple ventures and a combined YouTube subscriber base of over 9 million.
At the other end of the spectrum is 26-year-old Tana Mongeau, one of the most controversial and popular YouTubers in the industry with 5.4 million subscribers. Mongeau began her career with her signature storytime videos, where she shares outlandish anecdotes from her life. In addition to vlogging, Mongeau is known for collaborating with other famous (and sometimes even more controversial) YouTubers, participating in challenges and mukbang videos with her friends. Mongeau has also dabbled in music production, and gained popularity for her relationships with actress Bella Thorne and YouTuber-turned-professional boxer Jake Paul. She also briefly appeared on an MTV reality show made for YouTube, and currently co-hosts a podcast called Cancelled with her friend Brooke Schofield.
As you can probably tell from the title of her podcast, Mongeau is also notorious for a number of scandals. Her most notable transgressions were her multiple use of the N-word, for which she later apologized, which was picked up by YouTubers who were themselves accused of saying the N-word, and Tanacon, the failed Fyre Festival-esque convention she tried to create as a replacement for the content creator convention VidCon.
Okay. So what are the specific allegations that Mongjo made against Mr. Ko?
During a live taping of the Cancelled podcast on May 30, Mongeau claimed she had sex with Co when she was 17 years old. Fans did the math and said that would have made Co 25 years old at that time, sparking an uproar online. Mongeau further addressed the allegations in another video podcast episode published on June 21. The story is a bit disjointed, but the gist of it, as Mongeau reports, is that she and Co had sex when Mongeau was 17 during a Playlist Live (a multi-day event for content creators that usually takes place multiple times a year in different locations), placing the alleged relationship in 2015 or 2016. Although the legal age of consent varies depending on where Playlist Live is usually held, Mongeau claims that Co had sex with her despite Gabbie Hanna, another popular YouTuber, warning Co that Mongeau was underage. Additionally, fans are revisiting and looking at a collaborative video that Mongjo and Ko made eight years ago, when they were the same age, in a new light.
Mongeau said in a recent video podcast that she doesn’t feel traumatized by the incident, and jokingly mentioned it during a live podcast event, but said, “This wasn’t just some crazy tea, it was a crime.” She said she “grew up loving Ko,” but now that she’s an adult, looking back on the alleged incident, she says, “I don’t know what to do with myself.” [she was] She felt especially “taken advantage of” given that she was a fan of Ko’s, and although she claims she felt she was “having fun” at the time, she agrees that Ko should have known better.
What seemed most upsetting to Mongeau, as she also mentioned in her podcast appearance with Trisha Paytas, was the negative reaction she initially received to her allegations, which she attributes to Co’s popularity as opposed to her notoriety. “If I replaced Cody Co with someone who is less well-liked, I’m sure I would have received a lot more sympathy compared to the number of people in this industry who want to defend him,” she said. Mongeau also suggested that Co, who began speaking out about the incident online several years ago, felt guilty for texting her about his upcoming wedding when he began receiving backlash in response to Mongeau’s allegations. Mongeau also blames the entertainment and creative culture as a whole, saying it still preys on young women.
Mongeau’s videos were featured in Rolling Stone magazine and on the popular video podcast H3, but that didn’t spark the larger so-called cancellation that Coe is currently facing.
But wait, if these allegations were published in a major publication like Rolling Stone a month ago, why are people only talking about it now?
That’s where D’Angelo Wallace, a YouTuber known for his social commentary on other influencers, creators, and pop culture, comes in. On Sunday, Wallace posted a 15-minute YouTube video titled “Uncomfortable Conversation About Cody Co,” in which he directly called out Co for these allegations. Co has not publicly responded to Mongeau’s video, even weeks after it was released. In the video, Wallace said he is “not here to accuse” Co of “committing a crime,” but rather believes the allegations “should be explored, not treated as an open secret and swept under the rug,” accusing Co of “having done so for years.” Wallace is calling out Co for his public silence on the issue as a whole, rather than the alleged incident itself. Meanwhile, Mongeau is “facing some of the most vitriolic accusations of a victim.” [he’s] Wallace blamed the victim-blaming culture on Mongeau’s shaky reputation, saying it “sets a terrible precedent that those who no longer have goodwill lose their right to speak out.”
Wallace told Koh: “You have an obligation to at least condemn the misogyny, victim-blaming and all sorts of cognitive dissonance emanating from your audience in the name of defending you against accusations you’re too cowardly to address.”
Will Wallace reveal anything more about the incident and its aftermath?
Wallace’s video suggests some more connections. He features an old video of Hannah telling a story similar to the details of Mongeau’s tale. In the video, Hannah says, “I had a guy come up to me one time, and I saw him at a party flirting with an underage girl, and I took him aside and I was like, ‘Hey, you don’t know this, but she looks a little older and I know she’s underage. Watch this.'”
Wallace also exposes Ko’s history of not adequately addressing his own scandals, accusing him of censoring the YouTube comments section of his latest video to remove all references to Mongyo’s accusations. Wallace also criticizes Ko and those connected to him for not only remaining publicly silent on the issue, but also for how the controversy has negatively impacted women other than Mongyo, including Ko’s wife, fellow YouTuber Kelsey Krepel, whose YouTube comments section is littered with references to the incident. (Since Wallace’s video was released, one of Ko’s few allies, popular online voice Brittany Broski, is also currently under fire for making a statement that many fans have criticized as lame.)
Wallace links this ambiguous situation to a culture of misogyny, stating: “It’s easy for any man to elevate himself on the commentary side of YouTube by calling out misogynists in his content and generally asserting a feminist perspective. But if that perspective turns to silence the moment the situation becomes less straightforward, then that perspective is a branding strategy, not a belief.”
Has Ko had a clean record so far?
This is what anyone with internet fame would think, but it’s definitely not true! Old Vine videos in which Ko uses racist language occasionally resurface. (Wallace addressed this controversy, criticizing Ko for apologizing for these videos on his Patreon page, which is only open to his most dedicated fans, rather than on his more visible main platform or social media accounts.)
When Jake Paul accused Co of “cyberbullying,” it seemed like most of the internet was on Co’s side at the time, since Paul, a hugely successful YouTuber, himself has a history of inappropriate online behavior.
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But perhaps Coe’s biggest controversy to date involves his friendship with Duke University classmate Colby Leachman, who frequently appeared in Coe’s videos. While at Duke, a female student accused Leachman and another male student of drugging and raping her and videotaping the encounter. Leachman and the other student maintained that the interaction was consensual, and according to the Raleigh newspaper The News & Observer, which reported on the case, the university’s disciplinary committee ruled there was “not a preponderance of the evidence” that they had violated the sexual misconduct policy, but Leachman was placed on probation after “pledging responsibility” for violating the school’s policy “regarding unauthorized surveillance and photography.” According to court documents, Leachman and the other student reportedly “showed the video to others” and “lied to police about the video.” Ko has stopped using Leachman in his videos, but Wallace maintains the two remain close friends, as evidenced by photos of Leachman attending Ko’s wedding.
Has Mr Ko said anything yet about this matter?
No, as of the publication of this article, he has not made any official statement.
Trump’s running mate wrote a bestselling memoir. It’s amazing to read it now. She was a pro-abortion, feminist celebrity. Now she’s speaking at the Republican National Convention. Shannen Doherty was on 90210. It followed her around all the way. The worst character in House of the Dragon somehow found a way to be even more depraved.
I still can’t understand what’s so special about Wallace’s video going viral overnight, yet Mongeau’s own account eliciting barely a whisper of a response.
In her video, Wallace points out that the widespread online perception of Mongeau as an unlikable woman is likely a factor in her discrediting among viewers. Similarly, another of Ko’s critics, Paul, is known (rightfully or not) as one of the most disliked YouTubers. Hannah, who Mongeau cited as a witness, is also not one of the most likeable people online. The same can be said about Paytas, who spoke out about Ko after hearing Mongeau’s story.
Meanwhile, Wallace enjoys a generally positive reputation among YouTube users, which may explain why his videos (which, to his credit, are clear, forthright, and well-produced) are garnering attention. Already, more media outlets and popular YouTubers are covering the controversy, which may further support Wallace’s point that people who are already liked are more likely to be credible.