YouTuber Pyrocynical Accused of Grooming Underage Fans
By Distractify StaffDec. 15 2020, Published 12:45 p.m. ET
Back in 2014, U.K.-based YouTuber Pyrocynical began posting on the video-sharing platform. It didn’t take long for his videos to start gaining popularity, and he quickly became one of YouTube’s top commentary-style video creators. Today, Pyrocynical has more than 4 million subscribers.
Recently, Pyrocynical — who’s real name is Niall Comas — has come under scrutiny following allegations that he groomed a 15-year-old person, having inappropriate conversations of a sexual nature with them. Initially, Pyrocynical responded to the allegations and seemed to have debunked them, but new information has come to light that calls his behavior into question once again.
What happened to YouTuber Pyrocynical?
On Oct. 29, 2020, an anonymous individual who uses the name Ivory Rasmus on Twitter posted a series of tweets accusing Pyrocynical of grooming them. “[P]yrocynical groomed me, and I have screenshots to prove it,” they wrote. “I've been sitting thinking about this s--t nonstop, being angry, confused, and sad that I've had to accept this since I was 15, but I never said anything [because] I felt powerless.”
“What he sent ranged from drawn NSFW to fetishy YouTube videos, and he'd ask me to compile s--t for him using tags that he liked on certain websites. At 15, I obviously did it [because] he's f-----g [P]yrocynical. I was just happy to be talking to him, and I was trying to continue that.”
Ivory went on to share screenshots of some conversations containing graphic images and content which they claimed were with Pyrocynical (although Pyrocynical appears as a “Deleted User” in the screenshots).
my favourite part about pyrocynical's response to being accused of grooming is how many reddit awards it has pic.twitter.com/7VFcdJ51pC
— Leinad (@inversedaniel) December 7, 2020Eventually, Pyrocynical responded to these allegations with a post on the r/pyrocynical subreddit. “I want to set the record straight with you all and share the truth. This accusation is 100 percent false and incredibly irresponsible,” Pyrocynical wrote.
“I am not denying that in the past, I took part in conversations with others that many of you will understandably consider to be weird and distasteful (probably an understatement). It was careless of me not to consider who was behind the role-play/art sharing, and I take full accountability.”
“But these exchanges never amounted to anything other than fantasy role-play. I have never sent or solicited nude or IRL content. I have never tried to engineer an illicit encounter or lure anybody into anything. I have never built a dialogue, connection, or relationship with the intention of manipulating or exploiting anyone.”
pyrocynical ex girlfriend liking tweets about him being guilty...this man is guilty as hell omgggg dude pic.twitter.com/irvky26yeB
— karliiiiii (@boringhorror) December 7, 2020Pyrocynical went on to say that he had had no idea that Ivory was underage when he began communicating with them. For a while, it seemed as though people were taking Pyrocynical at his word. However, new information has since come to light which makes Pyrocynical’s innocence anything but a given.
Turkey Tom, another YouTube commentator, compiled a lengthy Google Doc containing additional screenshots of conversations which Ivory claims to have held with Ida, Pyrocynical’s girlfriend. In them, Ida appears to acknowledge several times that she knows Ivory’s age, leading some to conclude that Pyrocynical must have also known Ivory was underage. Additional screenshots show Ivory being very open about their age and even referring to themselves as a minor.
but my hope with talking about this on a public platform was that i could progress the conversation around weeding out exploitation of minors because it's a thing that runs rampant in all online communities, and it has potential to ruin peoples lives before they even start
— ivory rasmus 1312 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (@IIovebird) November 12, 2020Ivory has continued sharing their story on Twitter but have also had to deal with people doubting and harassing them as a result. “This situation is a perfect representation of why victims don't come out about their experiences,” they shared in a tweet on Nov. 11. “I have ample proof and all of my friends who knew pyro know what happened happened. I don't need to prove this s--t to random strangers.”
So far, it doesn’t look as though Pyrocynical has responded to this new round of allegations and evidence, but he has started to lose subscribers on his YouTube channel as people learn more about what happened.
If you need support, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or visit RAINN.org to chat online one-on-one with a support specialist at any time.
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