YouTuber and Twitch streamer Vinny Vinesauce has responded to allegations of manipulating and lying to fans during sexual relationships, where he said he will be seeking legal advice.
Vinny Vinesauce is a Twitch streamer and YouTuber best known as the first member of content creation group Vinesauce, who mostly stream playthroughs of game series like Mario and Zelda. Their main Twitch channel has 512K followers, with their YouTube channels garnering millions of subscribers.
However, on April 3, a document was published accusing Vinny of engaging in multiple sexual relationships with fans and manipulating them into staying quiet for the sake of his own privacy. The allegations were met with widespread dismissal and many believed them fake and lacking evidence.
Vinny promptly responded to the allegations, and explained that he was seeking legal advice in the wake of their publication.
On April 4, Vinny issued a pre-recorded statement on the main Vinesauce Twitch channel where he refuted the allegations, and explained that he has solicited legal advice.
“I’m not sure why they would post this other than to hurt me or damage my career,” he said. “I have spoken to a lawyer and I am going to continue having contact with the lawyer in figuring out any particular legal action.”
“I know I am who I am and I know I didn’t do anything wrong, and because of that I am not going into any more details publicly.
“I know some people might think of this as me attempting to silence others but this is me standing up for myself and defending myself from people who want to hurt me and what I do and what I love and what I care about.
“I’m a human being. I am fallible, but at the same time I am aware that there is real abuse that has taken place and that is not me. So I need to find a way of defending myself and say something.”
Vinny also urged fans not to attack anyone who had made accusations against him. “It sucks, and please do not harass or antagonize any other community members or anyone who has made a statement,” he added. “It is not worth it. It’s best just to leave people alone.”
Vinny explained that he will be taking a sabbatical from creating content for Vinesauce while he works to resolve the situation at hand.
“The situation is rough and I don’t know if I will be able to stream for a while. I definitely need some time and I need to take stock of who I am and where I am.