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Onision: A Decade of Youtube, Controversy and Young Girls

Youtube is becoming more well known for the figures of scandal it keeps churning out of the video machine.

Before James Charles, Trisha Paytas and other high profile YouTube celebrities who choose to live their lives mostly in front of the lens of a camera for the world to watch, there was a pale faced, mop-haired, awkward twenty-something who used the name Onision. Without question he was among the first wave of web-stars to come off the platform, having joined 2006.

By 2010, he was named by TubeFilter as one of “5 YouTubers On Their Way Up” alongside such platform icons like Shane Dawson, but by 2012 had been banned by VidCon for problematic statements, specifically about his ex-girlfriend who he claimed “Had sex with more than 20 people” thus was incapable of being raped. Justifiably, people complained.

In the years since, Onision, now in his mid-30’s, has accrued both wealth and a significant fanbase, boasting over 2 billion video views and as many subscribers across multiple channels who consume his content, featuring his daily life and those in it, under a revealing microscope. It sounds like the typical vlogger dream-come-true, I suppose. Turn on a camera, get famous, earn ridiculous sums of money and thus, you win the internet.

Except, Onision’s story took a very dark, disturbing turn. Dating back to his earliest days, Onision, also known as Gregory Jackson, began uploading more and more intimate and extreme content, some of which allegedly showcased him filming a young woman having a health crisis in the shower. Rather than seek help for the woman, splayed on the floor of the shower, he films and then he edits…

… And then he uploads.

In this era where everyone is bidding for fame, many YouTube celebrity hopefuls are notorious for faking breakups, pranks, pregnancies and illnesses for the views. In more radical cases, we’ve seen parents charged with child neglect for forcing their children to act or perform for subscribers and another famous Youtuber uploaded a video which showed a dead body, an apparent victim of suicide. The efforts to make a grab for views on monetized videos has become increasingly desperate, thus warranting a watch with a more critical eye. Staging events for videos has become commonplace. Whether or not the video featuring the young lady in despair were real or scripted remains a debate- although wikipedia states; “ The clips were scripted, but were presented in a manner many fans interpreted as authentic.”

No one can say for sure if the events portrayed in Onision’s videos are authentic- because who would watch a young girl lay on the cold floor of a shower, trembling, speaking incoherently and unable to recognize her surroundings and do nothing about it? Who would exploit a young woman in such a vulnerable state by uploading a video of them in a state of crisis?

Her name was Shiloh. She would be just one of a large cast featuring many women in his orbit who would go public in the aftermath of their relationships with Onision to allege they were the victims of emotional and psychological abuse at his hand.

Some of the stories have common threads; Girls claiming Onision and, later, even his husband (A female to male transgender man with whom he has children) formally known as Lainey, now named Kai, would solicit them via social media- sometimes while they were underage. The origin of his relationship with is now husband is also worthy of a cringe- In a video released by Onision himself, he admitted that Kai was a minor when their relationship began and disclosed that he drove to another state where the age of consent was beneath 18 and he could legally engage in a sexual act with Kai. In that video he boasts that Kai’s Grandmother attempted to have him thrown in jail, but he was cleared by the police having done nothing illegal in that state. He was 24 at the time. Kai was 17.

Worse, however, was the case of Sarah, a fan, who claims she began exchanging online messages with Onision and Kai at the age of 13- according to Sarah, these missives became more adult orientated just a year later. Sarah was dealing with a troubled home life and by 16 years old, she had moved in with the couple with Kai becoming her power of attorney. Sarah maintains that no explicit sexual activity took place, just “romantic talks,” until four days after her 18th birthday.

There was also a young woman named Billie- Billie alleges that she engaged in a relationship with Onision and Kai simultaneously and that Onision pressured his wife (Now husband) to take her into their relationship. Billie says Onision outlined a series of controlling punishments for her after she confessed she had, against his wishes, smoked marijuana. In communication she shared on twitter that are allegedly from Onision, he provides a list of punishments for her disobedience, some that include she be chained in the basement, get a tattoo that says “I’m a liar” among others.