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Aug. 26 2021, Updated 5:21 p.m. ET
In March of 2020, popular YouTuber and Twitch streamer Carson King — who fans know as CallMeCarson — announced that he was "taking a break indefinitely" from his online activities. Subscribers immediately expressed support and concern for internet personality who started his gaming/comedy channel in 2012. The streamer ended up returning a month later, in April 2020.
But, in January of 2021, Carson was accused of grooming underage fans through messaging.
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Several users exposed his alleged behavior on Twitter, and it could explain why he took an online break months earlier.
What happened to CallMeCarson? In August 2021, the content creator posted his first video in over a year titled "Moving Forward." Keep reading to find out why he initially took a hiatus from posting, and what he had to say in his new video.
What happened to CallMeCarson?
Back in the spring of 2020, the California resident revealed to his 1.5 million Twitter followers that he had been in a dark headspace and that he needed to take time off from social media. This included halting all content creation.
"This has been a difficult decision, but after considering some recent personal events and my own mental health, I've decided I need to take a moment to step away," Carson shared. "Going to focus on making myself a better person. Thank you for your support."
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In a second tweet, he added, "For those concerned about me, I recently started antidepressants and have been on a whirlwind of emotion and pain in my personal life. I recently started seeing a counselor a few weeks ago. Right now I’m in no way mature enough to handle the responsibility of this job."
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While most people sent well wishes to the internet celeb, others accused him of ducking out on his commitment to Lunch Club, a collective of YouTubers who create videos together.
"Didn't Lunch Club literally just start? Bit early and d-ckish to abandon ship," one user wrote. Another remarked, "Don't you play video games for a living? I guess I don't see how your 'work' is so stressful bro."
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Why was CallMeCarson accused of grooming underage fans?
The gamer did return to YouTube and gaming in April 2020 after taking some time off, but he got into some hot water in January 2021 when news broke that he'd allegedly sent inappropriate text messages to underage fans.
A Twitter user named Sam (@MiniBorb) posted on Jan. 4, 2021, that Carson began sending her sexually explicit messages when she was 17 (he was 19 at the time).
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She posted screenshots of their exchange, and the person she claims is Carson did make mention of the fact that she was under 18. In these messages, this person would ask her for nude photos, and recognized that their relationship was "wrong."
After sharing a series of photos and videos on the matter, Sam tweeted that "no one deserves" to be treated that way.
— sam (@miniborb) January 5, 2021Grooming, pedophilia, Carson situation//
I can personally come out and say that I’ve been groomed by Carson. I have talked to many people and never came out about this since now. At the time I was still 17 and in high school.
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"To anyone else who experienced this," she wrote, "I'm hurting so much for all of you. No one deserves this. I'm here to talk. Thank you all."
Soon after, the allegations against Carson were discussed on Keemstar's DramaAlert Channel.
The YouTube personality brought on two of Carson's former Lunch Club collaborators, Noah (Hugbox) and Travis (Traves), to discuss the accusations.
Keemstar shared that he had heard about Carson's problematic behavior before, and that he had a reputation for sending inappropriate messages to underage fans.
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Both Travis and Noah said they knew of Carson's behavior, and they said that he had come clean about it to the entire Lunch Club before. They didn't feel comfortable coming forward at that point, however, because they were scared of potential legal ramifications.
His alleged interactions with minors also led to the demise of the Lunch Club, according to Noah and Travis.
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"I'd say there were probably about two months of limbo where just like, nobody even wanted to talk about it. Then it was just officially decided that 'Yeah, we're not going to do this,'" Noah said. "That's what I can remember."
Keemstar did reach out to Carson prior to putting the video out, but he declined to comment on the situation.
CallMeCarson confirmed his return to Twitch seven months after allegations surfaced.
In a YouTube video posted on Aug. 26, Carson told viewers, “This isn’t gonna be your average YouTuber apology video,” adding, “I’m not gonna make it long and drawn out.”
“I’ve learned a lot over this past year. I’m not seeking forgiveness nor am I looking to make excuses," he continued. However, the gamer did not go into further details about the allegations.
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Instead, Carson focused on his plans for the future which includes his intentions to “donate 100 percent of [his] profits to charity" for the next 12 months.
“I’m not going to answer any specifics of the situation with me,” Carson said. “Nor am I going to do anything to cause any more drama than there already is.”
Carson will return on Twitch on Sept. 1.
