Top 5 YouTube Scandals in 2019: Shane Dawson, Fantastic Adventures, ACE Family & More

As a home to millions of content creators vying for the next viral video, it may come as no surprise that YouTube tends to be riddled with controversies. Though 2018 could go down as the year of apology videos, 2019 looks to be a year full of YouTube-centered controversy — despite being only three months in.

Here are the top 5 YouTube scandals as of March 2019:

Mother Behind Kid-Friendly Channel, Fantastic Adventures Charged With Child Abuse

News broke Wednesday that Machelle Hackney, 40, was arrested for allegedly abusing her seven adopted children for not performing well enough in their popular YouTube videos. The channel, Fantastic Adventures, had nearly 250 million views but has since been removed from the site.

The adoptive mother of seven is accused of withholding food and water from the children, covering them with pepper spray and forcing them to take ice baths, according to a police report seen by AZ Central.

"We take safety on YouTube very seriously," a YouTube spokesperson said. "We work closely with leading child safety organizations and others in our industry to protect young people. When we're made aware of serious allegations of this nature we take action, which may include suspending monetization, or, upon conclusion of an investigation, terminating channels."

Shane Dawson Denies Lewd Acts With His Cat

A Twitter user unearthed audio of Shane Dawson, 30, from a 2015 podcast where he claimed to have had his "first sexual experience" at 19 when he "came all over" his cat. Dawson took to Twitter Sunday to deny the validity of this story and suggest it was a bad joke. He also apologized for making the remarks in the first place through a series of tweets.

"I didn't f*** my cat. I didn't c** on my cat. I didn't put my d*** anywhere near my cat. I've never done anything weird with my cats," Dawson tweeted Sunday. "I promised myself I wasn't going to make apology videos after last years [sic] thing so I'm just trying to be as short and honest with this as possible."

"I've apologized many times for all the dumb s**t I've said in videos and podcasts over the years. I've learned my lesson over and over again and I'm more confident now in my ability to be entertaining by just being myself and not being so shocking for laughs," he added in another tweet.

Since his apology, the 30-year-old YouTuber said the story "was fake" and was based on a sketch he had never completed. He claimed to have told the joke as if it actually happened, which he recognized as a "disgusting" and "very dumb" thing to do.

YouTuber Matt Watson Exposes 'Pedophile Ring' In Comment Sections

On February 27, Matt Watson posted a video alleging YouTube's "recommended algorithm is facilitating pedophiles' ability to connect with each other, trade contact info, and link to actual [child pornography] in the comments."

Since the video's posting, it has garnered nearly 3.5 million views and inspired the trending hashtag #YouTubeWakeUp.

"Any content — including comments — that endangers minors is abhorrent, and we have clear policies prohibiting this on YouTube," a YouTube spokesperson told BuzzFeed News. "We took immediate action by deleting accounts and channels, reporting illegal activity to authorities, and disabling comments on tens of millions of videos that include minors. There's more to be done, and we continue to work to improve and catch abuse more quickly."

Trisha Paytas Calls Out David Dobrik and Vlog Squad

Trisha Paytas is known throughout the YouTube community by her larger-than-life personality and candid videos, including a very public breakup with fellow YouTuber Jason Nash. Though the couple has faced turbulence before, their most recent breakup looked to have David Dobrik, a popular content creator, involved.

On January 28, Dobrik published a since-deleted 4-minute and 20-second vlog on YouTube. The video included a bit recorded three months ago from a friend and Nash saying "if you can get Tana Mongeau to have a threeway with me and Trisha, I'll buy you a Ferrari."

The vlog then cuts to present day, where Dobrik invites Mongeau to his house and asks "will you have a threesome with Jason and Trisha?" Dobrik laughs awkwardly and then the segment ends.

"David's on a whole other level of being an actual, horrible person," Paytas said in response to the bit. "It hurts me and also disgusts me."

She claimed Dobrik used the Mongeau "joke" to get a reaction out of her that would be good for the vlog. She claims in the video that Nash "tired to kiss Tana in a dressing room after the pair went on a 'date' for a vlog. Jason tried to kiss her and she pulled away, with him saying 'it's for the video.'"

Trisha Paytas released a video attempting to explain what happened and her side of things but it has since been deleted.

ACE Family Patriarch Austin McBroom Posts Video of Child With Phallic-Shaped Lollipop

Originally posted on Austin McBroom's Snapchat earlier in January — and quickly captured by another user who posted the video to Twitter January 7 — the video shows the 26-year-old buying a young child a sexualized-looking lollipop.

"Show Catherine what you have in your hand," McBroom says in the video, as the child holds and licks the phallic-shaped candy.

Since the incident, the vlogging family released a four-part documentary in February. While the family has not addressed the video directly, McBroom and fiancée Catherine Piaz detail their first apartment together and the road to social media fame.

"It was so peaceful," Catherine Piaz said in response to what it was like before their YouTube channel took off.

"I was definitely more free," Austin McBroom added. "What I mean by free is that I was able to go out and not worry about anyone around me. I was to go, do what I had to do ... and not worry about anyone following me."