YouTube Let’s Play streamer Chuggaaconroy is currently fending serious allegations of harassment this year but, as usual when it comes to YouTube drama, it’s not a clear-cut case. Now that both sides have had their say and it seems the dust has settled somewhat Chugga has been able to resume his career online. So what were the allegations made against him and how did the popular gamer respond?
Who is Chuggaaconroy?
Chuggaaconroy, or Emiliano Rodolfo Rosales-Birou (Emile for short) made a YouTube account in 2006 during the website’s infancy and uploaded his first Let’s Play in 2008. Since then he’s continued to create content mostly revolving around Nintendo which has netted him 1.25 million subscribers over the past 16 years.
Unlike many who started around the same time as him, Emile’s content remains largely unchanged. In many ways his Let’s Plays feel like a throwback to the golden age of gaming on YouTube. Although, like every other YouTuber, Emile’s online personality is a front, and the person behind the screen may not be as wholesome as he seems.
The controversy
By now we’re all used to hearing stories about popular YouTubers abusing their position and turning out to be massive creeps. So when accusations started being made about Emile it was sad, but not too hard to believe. It all started in January 2024 when video essayist, Lady Emily made a post to X publicly accusing Emile of sexual harassment. She claimed that he frequently messaged her trying to initiate erotic foot fetish roleplay despite her not being into it and she had the messages to back up her claim.
This was followed by another woman coming forward. MasaeAnela, a fellow Let’s Player, who had made videos with Emile on his channel in the past, accused him of making her feel uncomfortable on numerous occasions as well as pushing boundaries frequently. Going back through the catalog of videos does show that Emile would often make jokes of a sexual nature in his videos with Masae. Many believed Masae’s story.
The most damning accusation came from an individual claiming to be friends with a girl who had received sexual messages from Emile when she was 15 and he was 19. As you can imagine this was the final straw for many fans of the YouTuber.
Chuggaaconroy responds
Although it took some time for the response, (he was admitted to a mental health facility for a short period) Emile finally responded to all the accusations in a lengthy Google doc which gives his perspective on the whole thing.
Starting with Lady Emily, Emile claimed that he had not realized he was making her uncomfortable, believing Emily was on board with the topics being discussed. After she communicated her discomfort to him he stopped contacting her and provided screenshots of the chat backing up his claim. Fans on X also pointed out that she had left out vital context.
Emile also drops a pretty big bombshell regarding MasaeAnela by revealing that the two had been a couple and were even engaged before breaking things off in 2021. Fans had often suspected the two were an item but nothing had ever been confirmed, according to him Masae had not wanted to go public with their relationship. Many wondered why Masae had failed to mention such an important detail when first making her accusation.
As for the underage girl Emile had been messaging, he doesn’t deny anything, but claims he was young and naive as a 19-year-old in 2010, when the chats took place. Emile says that the girl had been the one pursuing him and that he had cut things off once he realized the sexual jokes weren’t jokes to her. Once again, he provides screenshots that seem to back up his side of the story.
While many thought that would be the last we see of Chuggaaconroy, the YouTuber has since returned to his Let’s Play roots with many of his fans deciding to forgive him and continue supporting the channel. Draw whatever conclusions you will about this messy situation.
Published: Nov 28, 2024 10:57 am