Markiplier gets dragged into Dan Avidan’s grooming allegations as Game Grumps controversy rages online

Amid the fallout of the recent grooming allegations leveled against Leigh Daniel Avidan of “Game Grumps” fame, popular YouTuber Marcus “Markiplier” Fischbach recently found himself being dragged on Twitter.

Dan Avidan, co-host of the popular “Let’s Play” web series and one half of the musical duo “Ninja Sex Party,” recently grabbed headlines after he was accused of allegedly grooming and manipulating young fans.

According to Dot Esports, this was “just the latest of several accusations made against Avidan over the past few years that accuse the host of sexting, sleeping with, and then ghosting younger fans.”

The allegations stemmed from recent documents posted on the r/rantGrumps subreddit. It included video footage of Avidan showing a hot tub in a hotel room as well as several screengrabs of DMs between him and the alleged victim.

As fans struggled to come to terms with these eye-opening accusations, another notable name in the YouTube circuit, Markiplier, started to trend on Twitter.

This was primarily due to his initial collaborations with Dan Avidan in the past, as well as his close association with Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg, who several often perceive as racist and anti-Semitic.

As a result of his name cropping up amid the Dan Avidan scandal, battle lines were soon drawn as fans and critics duked it out over Markiplier’s involvement on Twitter.

According to the recent slew of accusations, the reported victim claimed that she began texting Avidan while she was 17 years of age. However, as soon as she came of legal age, their conversations allegedly took a sexual turn.

This reportedly led to her meeting him backstage at a Game Grumps live show where alleged sexual activity took place.

In light of these recent allegations, several Twitter users took to social media to label Dan Avidan an active perpetrator of sexual misdemeanor from 2013 to 2017.

Markiplier’s recent involvement in this scandal seems to have stemmed from a few tweets in which fans labeled him as the only unproblematic YouTuber left:

This sudden decision to invoke Markiplier’s reference did not sit well with the majority of the online community. They not only questioned the need for it but also slammed the idealistic notion of YouTubers being role models:

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In today’s digital age, where cancel culture often reigns supreme, there have been numerous instances of “beloved” YouTubers being exposed for severe malpractices and misdemeanors.

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While infallible clarity is still awaited with regards to the raging Dan Avidan grooming accusations, it now looks like other prominent creators such as Markiplier are being made to run the gauntlet at the hands of a conflicted internet space.

Published 22 Mar 2021, 11:32 IST