Latest / Mini Scroll / MINI SCROLL: Cody Ko & Noel Miller statement + Ava Tyson allegations explained

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MINI SCROLL: Cody Ko & Noel Miller statement + Ava Tyson allegations explained · Mini Scroll

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  Hi everyone, welcome to Mini Scroll, the daily Internet
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  culture podcast bringing you the biggest stories from social
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  media, the creator economy and the digital space every Monday
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  through Thursday. I'm your host, Lauren Meisner,
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  the founder of the youth digital media brand Centennial World.
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  Welcome back to Mini scroll, everyone.
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  I hope you guys had a good weekend.
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  I actually had such a good weekend.
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  It was the first weekend in probably five months that I
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  didn't have to work on the weekend and it was kind of life
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  changing, honestly. I have spent at least one full
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  day at the office every single weekend since just the year
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  kicked off with the craziness that it was.
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  And yeah, I feel like I have started to get a strong grasp, a
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  stronger grasp on my schedule and my workflow and all of that
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  just in time to disrupt it again.
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  Because if you guys are long time listeners, you know, once a
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  year I usually go home and either July or August I go back
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  to Canada and I spend about a month, like a few weeks to a
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  month. They are working from Canada and
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  I am heading back home to Canada on Monday.
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  So in a week's time, nothing should change with the podcast
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  except obviously the setup. You guys are going to be seeing
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  me. I think I'm probably just going
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  to have to record on my bed maybe.
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  But I'm bringing my camera, I'm bringing the tripod, I'm
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  bringing the teleprompter for mini or for infinite scroll.
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  I yeah, it's going to be like a full setup.
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  I bought a mic that I can hold. So it'll like plug directly into
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  the camera. So I feel like the audio quality
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  might, you know, not be like as great as it is right now with
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  this like whole Rd. mixer and everything, but it'll still be a
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  professional microphone plugged into a professional camera.
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  So I am doing that. So I'm going home on August 5th.
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  So there'll be no mini scroll August 5th or 6th because as we
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  know the flights from Sydney to Toronto are like 24 plus hours.
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  So I'm going to have those two days off.
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  I'll be back on Wednesday with mini scroll.
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  I don't, I guess maybe that will be Thursday, but either way like
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  the day will be pushed, you know, like Thursday for
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  Australia. I mean anyways, there will be
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  two episodes of mini school next week and a deep dive as usual.
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  But yes, I'm really excited. My parents retired up to our
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  cottage a few years ago so when I go home now it's like 2 hours
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  north of Toronto and I'm just in cottage country on a lake and
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  it's so beautiful and it's just like so serene.
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  It's the exact like, chill vibe I really, really need.
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  And I was laughing so hard because TikTok gave me a memory
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  that one year ago today, I was at home, like at my family
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  cottage back home with my parents.
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  And this was the day that James Charles launched Painted, I
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  guess, like his beauty brand. And his launch video had me in
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  it like a clip from our podcast TikTok, where I was talking
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  about how like, he's irrelevant and like, nobody is going to buy
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  paint. And I was dying because I
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  remember that day so well. I remember being home so vividly
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  last year and like how I felt. And I just, it was just such a
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  different time. And all the Colleen Ballinger
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  stuff had just happened. We just did our big deep dive
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  into Gwen Swinarton, like Gwen Gwizz ASMR, and that was popping
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  off. And then this James Charles
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  thing. And it was just like, I just
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  remember having like a lot of anxiety when I was home and
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  like, feeling like I just didn't have a lot of control over the
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  business. And I, I mean, I still don't
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  really feel in control. I don't know if you ever feel in
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  control when you run a business, but I have a completely
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  different business now. Like, it's just, it's wild.
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  It's just been a wild year. But yeah.
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  So I will be podcasting from home for three weeks.
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  So like the 7th or whatever, once I get there, the 7th to
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  the, I believe it's like the 29th or the 30th.
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  And then I'm going to Europe for two weeks because one of my best
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  friends from high school is getting married in Tuscany and
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  they're doing like a joint bachelor, Bachelorette trip
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  beforehand in Croatia that we're going to go to.
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  We have a few days of just like us time traveling, whatever.
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  And then we have the wedding. And then we're going to have a
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  couple nights in Rome and then fly back to Sydney.
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  So I'm going to be gone for like almost six full weeks and two of
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  those weeks at the end. So the first two weeks of
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  September, I am going to take off as a vacation.
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  So this is your warning to Backlog Bank your mini scroll
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  episodes if you want some content while I'm gone.
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  So yes, I'm going to take the first two weeks of September
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  completely off. I'm going to try and have like a
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  proper vacation, a proper break. I really, really need it.
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  So I'm looking forward to that and I hope you guys understand.
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  OK, let's get into the stories for today.
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  So I have two stories for you guys.
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  The first one will be no surprise that I'm reporting on
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  this. I guess I just report on all the
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  developments on this story now. But Cody Ko and Noelle Miller
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  have released a statement amid the ongoing Tana Mojo
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  allegations. We've covered this on Mini
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  Scrolls so many times, like I said, over the past couple of
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  weeks, but if you missed it, Tana Mojo recently claimed that
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  she hooked up with Cody Ko when she was about 16 or 17 years old
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  and he was 25. Since then, Cody has been under
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  pressure to respond. He stayed silent, though he did
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  face backlash after being filmed playing Sorry by Justin Bieber
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  during a DJ set in Las Vegas. Now over this past weekend, Cody
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  finally issued a statement. However, it wasn't directly
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  addressing the allegations. Instead it was a shared
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  statement with Noel Miller. So Cody and Noel run a podcast
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  network called TMG Studios. TMG stands for Tiny Meat Gang
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  which is the name of the podcast that they Co host under TMG
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  Studios. Cody hosts his own show called
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  Insanely Chill. Other influencers like Brooke
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  Averick also have podcasts under the network.
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  After the allegations surfaced, Emergency Intercom by Drew and
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  Enya recently cut ties with the network, which I believe I
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  reported on. I think that was last week as
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  well. So in the statement, they
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  started by thanking the team and their listeners for being
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  patient. The pair then announced that
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  Cody will be taking a step back from TMG.
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  Quote As we enter into this next phase of the studio, we wanted
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  to let you know that Cody will not be involved in the
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  day-to-day operations at TMG Studios.
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  What has transpired over the past few weeks is a personal
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  issue for him and Cody wants to remove any effect this has on
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  your professional or personal lives and the work you and other
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  hosts have done to make TMG Studios so successful.
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  This statement reads. They also revealed that Quote
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  Noel will continue to lead the team, where his top priority
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  remains the life and growth of the studio and its talent.
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  So while this is Cody's most public statements so far, many
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  people feel like he didn't really do much beyond
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  acknowledging the allegations. On top of this, many believe
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  that he will still be associated with TMG, but mostly just behind
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  the scenes. Now, interestingly, there's been
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  a lot of discourse on Twitter comparing this situation to that
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  of the Try Guys. Many users have expressed
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  disappointment with TMG, pointing out that the Try Guys
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  cut ties with Ned Fulmer for having an affair with a
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  consenting adult. However, she was also an
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  employee. Meanwhile, Cody is likely to
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  continue profiting from and being involved in TMG despite
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  allegedly sleeping with Tana while she was a minor.
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  So obviously Ned and his Co worker at the time or his
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  employee at the time, those were two consenting adults and it was
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  definitely like an HR issue possibly.
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  And he was cheating on his wife. So there's a lot of like
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  interpersonal stuff, a lot of professional stuff because he
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  did it with an employee of the Try Guys.
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  But at the end of the day, it wasn't like a crime, whereas
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  what Cody allegedly did could be an alleged crime.
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  So, you know, there are different lines there, I would
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  say. And I, I think when the try guys
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  did cut ties with Ned, like it was such a big deal because it
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  felt like they took action right away and they did something that
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  seemed a bit drastic, but it was in the name of protecting their
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  brands, their employee. And it just, it went over really
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  well because they made it so public and they took action
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  right away. And it was like steps in the
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  right direction. And I don't know, I don't, I
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  don't know what is going to happen with TMG Studios.
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  I don't know what's going to happen with Cody.
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  Like, this statement very much makes it sound like Cody, you
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  know, is still a partner in TMG. He still owns it.
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  So I don't know. We'll have to see.
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  And there's so much discourse about like why Cody maybe hasn't
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  addressed it. And people are like, well, he's
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  Canadian, so maybe he's worried about his citizenship coming in.
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  I think the simplest answer is if he comes out and says sorry,
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  then he's essentially admitting to an alleged crime.
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  So like, you know, I don't think we're ever going to get a
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  statement about this in any type of like, meaningful way because
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  he's not going to admit to an alleged crime on the Internet.
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  That's my take on that. OK, The next story that I have
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  for you guys is I'm going to address the Ava Tyson
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  allegations. Now, I know these allegations
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  have been going around for about a week, and I know Mr. Beast
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  made a statement and I'll go through all of that in a minute,
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  but I didn't want to address these.
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  I wasn't going to cover it because there are just a lot of
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  people that are using this situation for an opportunity to
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  be transphobic and I didn't want to empower anyone to do that.
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  However, the alleged victim has spoken out and done an interview
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  with Rolling Stone. So I'm going to cover it because
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  now we have all sides to the story.
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  I think it's an important story to cover for sure, but I want to
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  make it clear, if anyone finds this on YouTube, and it will be
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  YouTube, it will be YouTube that people, rogue people, will find
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  this because it will come up in the recommended or their search
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  or whatever. If you find this video on
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  YouTube and you comment anything transphobic in the comments, I
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  will, we'll just block you. OK OK so over the past few weeks
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  grooming allegations have been levelled against Ava Chris
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  Tyson. So if you aren't familiar with
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  Ava, she is long time Co host of Mr. Beast's videos and has been
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  friends with Jimmy who is Mr. Beast since childhood.
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  She is also a trans woman who has been the target of
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  discrimination since she opened up about her gender affirming
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  HRT journey and transition last year.
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  Recently, Ava has been accused of sending inappropriate
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  messages to a minor when she 20. Over the past month, video
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  started circulating of messages with a user named Lava GS, who
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  was 13 at the time. Last week, Ava took to Twitter
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  to address the claims, apologizing for her previous
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  behavior while also clarifying that she, quote, never groomed
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  anyone. She also announced that she will
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  be taking a step back from social media for her mental
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  health and all things Mr. Beast to ensure that no one at the
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  company will be hurt by these allegations.
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  Quote, I would like to apologize for any of my past behavior or
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  comments if it hurt or offended and anyone it was not my intent.
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  Seeing recent events, we've mutually decided it's best I
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  permanently step away from all things Mr. Beast and social
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  media to focus on my family and mental health, she wrote.
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  I want to add, I never groomed anyone.
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  The person who gets brought up in these accusations at Lava GS
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  has vocally supported that these are false.
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  Beyond this, Ava continued by acknowledging that her previous
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  behavior online was inappropriate.
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  Quote I humbly apologize to anyone I have hurt with my
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  unacceptable social media posts, past actions, and to those who
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  may feel betrayed by how I used to act online.
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  To lump these two factors together to create a narrative
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  that my behavior extended beyond bad edgy jokes is disgusting and
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  did not happen. Lava has corroborated Ava's
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  statement on Twitter, writing I am not a victim and I am not
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  backpedaling any statements I have already made.
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  Everything I have stated is still very true.
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  Nothing bad happened between me and Chris.
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  People are creating lies around my name.
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  So Chris is Ava's dead name? In an exclusive interview with
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  Rolling Stone. Leyva Lava.
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  Sorry, I don't know what I was just saying.
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  I don't know if I was saying Lava or Leyva.
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  I think it's Lava. Lava asserted that certain
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  creators have been misrepresenting the story to
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  further their own agendas. In the interview, Lava explained
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  that he communicated with Ava after she had reached out and
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  asked him to make a Discord server.
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  This was back in 2016, so it was a fairly new platform quote.
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  Chris reached out to me and saw I was making Discord for people,
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  Lava tells Rolling Stone. He was new to it and wanted a
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  bot that would play lo fi study music, which isn't hard to do.
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  Lava ended up staying in the server after it was built, where
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  the two would continue to communicate.
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  In the interview, Lava says that Ava was not aware of their age
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  gap until 2018, although he, quote, couldn't remember the
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  specific details of how it came up.
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  Regarding the quote, UN quote inappropriate conversations
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  between the two that have recently surfaced, Lava said.
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  Quote, I was at the age where I spoke to all my friends like
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  that. There was nothing more than
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  that. It's how Bros talk.
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  I saw Chris as an older brother because he reminded me a lot of
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  my older brother. Lava would then go on to work
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  for Mr. Beast as a production assistant, with Ava helping him
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  land the job. He later stopped working for Mr.
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  Beast in May 2021. It has been speculated that the
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  creators who started pushing the grooming narrative are doing so
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  for transphobic reasons. Quote one right leaning creator
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  who had thoughts about Tyson and her transition happened to be
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  Prism 42A YouTube with 800 subscribers who had found the
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  messages between Lava and Tyson on 4 Chan.
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  That was unclear how they ended up there.
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  Prism felt he needed to get the information out, so he claimed
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  he contacted 50 creators. Steven Asarsh writes for the
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  Rolling Stone Quote. Prism then contacted YouTube
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  Verdis, an 18 year old with 600 subscribers, and had him reach
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  out to Lava looking to interview him for an editor position.
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  Verdis tells Rolling Stone he had no idea he was being set up
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  or that Lava had anything to do with Tyson or Mr. Beast.
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  He was just looking for an editor.
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  On June 13th, Verdis and Prism went on to release their own
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  video about Ava and Lava's messages, but neither reportedly
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  included the information from Lava's interview.
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  The video blew up a month later when Androx posted a commentary
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  video compiling the claims, with many right wing creators
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  seemingly using the story to spread transphobia.
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  So Mr. Beast also released his own statement on this last week,
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  he wrote on Twitter. Over the last few days, I've
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  become aware of the serious allegations of Ava Tyson's
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  behavior online and I am disgusted and opposed to such
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  unacceptable acts. During that time, I have been
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  focused on hiring an independent third party to conduct a
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  thorough investigation to ensure I have all the facts.
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  That said, I've seen enough online and take an immediate
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  action to remove Ava from my company, my channel, and any
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  association with Mr. Beast. I do not condone or support any
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  of the inappropriate actions. I will allow the independent
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  investigators the necessary time to conduct a comprehensive
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  investigation, and we'll take any further actions based on
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  their findings. So a lot of people have
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  commended Mr. Beast for making a public statement very quickly,
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  taking action. And I agree with that.
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  I think despite Lava's insistence that Eva, you know,
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  did not groom them, there's a lot of other allegations now
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  floating around about Eva and people are bringing up old
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  conversations and whether Lava feels groomed or not.
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  If the messages are inappropriate, it makes sense
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  that Mister Beast, as the owner of the company where Ava and
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  then eventually Lava were representing him, he was putting
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  them in an environment together like he would need to make sure
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  he understands everything about the situation.
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  So that'll make sense. Lava actually responded to Mr.
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  Beast's tweet, he said. I commend Mr. Beast for taking
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  the situation seriously and hiring a third party
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  investigator while also taking the appropriate actions of
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  cutting ties with Ava. While the allegations involving
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  my name aren't true, I feel there is still a lot of other
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  allegations, negations that deserve to be investigated
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  thoroughly. That's that on that.
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  You know, I might do a deep dive one day on kind of how early
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  intranet was like the Wild West. And I do believe that is the
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  reason that it feels like all of our favorite creators were like
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  quote UN quote groomers or having like inappropriate
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  relationships with minors. I think there's like a very big
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  topic to explore there and I don't even know if I'm really
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  the right person to do it. I feel like I would probably
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  need an expert online with me. But yes, just another one like
• 16:17
  that DJ Khaled sound another one.
• 16:20
  All right, guys, well, that's it for today.
• 16:23
  Thank you guys so much for listening to Mini Scroll.
• 16:25
  If you like this podcast, please rate, review and subscribe.
• 16:28
  It helps me so much. Oh yeah, and we also didn't make
• 16:30
  it to 5000 subscribers on YouTube.
• 16:32
  Obviously, unfortunately, we're not that far off, but like we
• 16:35
  didn't make it. So maybe we'll make it by the
• 16:37
  end of the week. All right, anyways, thank you
• 16:40
  guys. I love you and I will talk to
• 16:41
  you tomorrow. Bye.