Game Grumps’ Dan Avidan responds to grooming allegations

Online celebrity Daniel Avidan, of Game Grumps and Ninja Sex Party fame, was accused of grooming young fans in a Reddit thread, which quickly became a hot debate among fans – and which Avidan claims is “untrue.”

UPDATE 3/26/2021: Avidan has since responded to the allegations in a statement to Newsweek, where he claimed that any sexual interactions that took place with the fan in question occurred when she was of age, and that any “predatory” behavior outlined by the Reddit post was untrue.

“I stand by the fact that any interactions that took place of a sexual nature with the person in question were done so when she was 22 years old and we were both consenting adults,” Avidan stated. “To claim I engaged in any predatory behavior is simply untrue. I have made mistakes in the past, and I apologize if my actions or words ever made anyone upset, but those mistakes were never ill-intentioned, exploitative or illegal in any capacity.”

The user who posted the Reddit thread to Twitter has since apologized.

Original story is as follows:

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Daniel Avidan, age 42, has been a long-term presence on the Game Grumps channel, where he plays through video games and gives commentary with animator and fellow YouTuber Arin Hanson.

The two have been through many years of Game Grumps together after the exit of JonTron in 2013. Avidan’s comedy band, Ninja Sex Party, has also seen massive success alongside his work with Game Grumps over the years.

However, on March 21, a slew of accusations against the singer/YouTuber came to light, as posted in a viral Reddit thread. The thread contains links to several videos and text message conversations between Avidan and a purportedly younger fan.

The reported victim claimed that she began texting Dan while she was underage, and as she came of age, their conversations began to turn toward a sexual nature.

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This allegedly led to them meeting up at a Game Grumps live show, where sexual activity purportedly occurred. A few weeks later, the victim claimed that all contact with Avidan ceased completely.

This, understandably, led to a slew of outrage and emotional reactions from fans, who took to social media to express their shock and sadness in wake of the shared screenshots and videos.

There has been a fair amount of pushback against the accusations though, with some claiming that what happened between Avidan and the alleged victim was not grooming at all.

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Arguments against the claims boil down to screenshot evidence apparently showing that no sexual conversations happened while the victim was underage, and it wasn’t until they were 22 years old that the purported sexual activity and ghosting happened.

Still, more people continued to argue that even if age wasn’t technically a factor, it was still a questionable interaction between a popular content creator and a fan.

 

Stay tuned to Dexerto for more on this breaking story.