"We’ll never be truly free of her": Netizens react as Colleen Ballinger returns to YouTube just days after announcing break

On February 27, 2025, controversial YouTuber and television personality Colleen Ballinger announced that she would be taking a break from content creation (particularly vlogging) for a while. She said that she needed to "heal in a million different ways." That break ended yesterday (March 10, 2025) after Ballinger uploaded a new vlog on her Colleen Vlogs channel.

News of her return was shared to the popular r/youtubedrama subreddit. Ballinger is not the most favored creator in the YouTube space, having been embroiled in a host of controversies, including allegations of grooming. Her return sparked some strong reactions from fans. One user remarked:

"We’ll never be truly free of her," said u/Electrawh*re

Some suggested that the community should stop giving her any further attention:

"Can we please stop giving her attention," said u/chardongay

A few users also recalled her controversial sing-song response to the grooming allegations in 2023. One user wrote:

"We're never free from “THE TOXIC GOSSIP TRAINNN” Colleen," said u/XylemBullet

Here are a couple of other reactions:

"Two weeks required a goodbye video?" said u/Thelatestweirdo

"Do her fans just not believe she was a groomer or do they not care? The comments are depressing," said u/tufftricks

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"I couldn't work, and I was in pain" - Colleen Ballinger gives updates on her absence

Controversial YouTuber Colleen Ballinger has returned after a two-week hiatus. Before her break, she stated that she needed time to "heal," but she made her comeback yesterday.

During her return video titled I'M BAAAAACK!, she hinted that she may have been hospitalized during her break:

"I thought I would only stop vlogging for a few days, maybe a week tops. But then, my body broke, and the sun just came back. The sun was like, 'Oh, we're talking about how you got really hurt and went to the hospital? I'm in. I wanna hear about this tea.' I'll save that story for another day."

She added:

"That prevented me from editing anymore, and when I thought I was gonna come back to the internet, I actually couldn't come back to the internet because I couldn't work, and I was in pain."

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Despite her return, Colleen Ballinger remains highly unpopular in the online community due to the controversial grooming allegations against her in 2023. Adam McIntyre, a former fan, accused the YouTuber of having inappropriate conversations with him when he was a teenager.