In the wake of the manipulation and grooming allegations against Colleen Ballinger, internet users have watched as another YouTuber faces a similar fate. Commentary creator and member of the beloved Chaos Crew, Lewis Buchan, has been accused of grooming a fifteen-year-old girl while he was nineteen.
Earlier this week, a TikTok user named Megan posted a video alleging that a YouTuber had taken advantage of her.
“Me realising being groomed by a YouTuber at the age of 15 was actually traumatic and not something to laugh about with the girlies when I’m drunk,” the TikTok reads as Megan acts shocked for the camera.
With Megan choosing to keep the creator’s identity anonymous, many TikTok users began to wonder who she was referring to, asking her to expose them. Responding to all the speculation, Megan commented, “not in the mood to expose but if u stan someone that has 200k+ subs who’s friends with a lot of popular youtubers then 😕 b careful !”
Megan soon revealed that the YouTuber in question was Lewis Buchan. She went on to share screenshots of their messages as “proof” along with other evidence of their relationship — showing that Lewis followed her social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
“woke up to ppl saying i’m lying so this is proof i cannot fake!” she writes in the caption. “not doing this to be vile just don’t want it to happen to anyone else (which ive already had a few messages about 🤢).”
Throughout the messages, viewers can see Lewis complimenting Megan on her appearance, saying she is “gorgeous” and calling her “darlin’.” According to the screenshots, the creator even asked Megan to clarify her age, writing, “you’re sixteen now, aren’t you.”
In her final TikTok on the matter, Megan posted a screen-recorded message from her Notes app, further explaining her experience.
“Lewis randomly followed me on Twitter in around March 2018 when I was 15… It became apparent he only randomly followed me as he had clearly seen my avi / selfies and decided that as a 15-year-old, I was attractive,” she begins. “He formed a friendship with me at the age of 15, so the second I turned ’16 and legal’ (the definition of grooming lol).”
She goes on to explain how Lewis added her to a group chat on Twitter full of “13 to 16-year-old girls” — something she described as “extremely questionable.” Megan also notes that the “worst” moments with Lewis were their conversations on Snapchat, claiming that he attempted to “sext her.” However, because of the nature of the app, she couldn’t screenshot these messages.
“As for why I’m coming out about this now – I was a very impressionable young girl. It has taken me years to realise the severeness of the situation,” she reflects.
To close out the TikTok, Megan includes evidence of other girls who have spoken out against Lewis’ behaviour.
Since Megan has made these claims against the creator, internet users and fellow YouTubers have criticised Lewis. Members of the Chaos Crew, like Alex Elmslie and Arthur TV, have posted statements saying they will no longer be working with Lewis.
im actually really. impressed? with the… chaos crew.?? reactions to the lewis buchan situation like theyve actually publicly condemned him and said they dont want to move further with him and that is SO?? like ive never seen anyone else do that especially when its their friend
— grayson (@gr4ys0_n) June 18, 2023
Having said that, fans of the Chaos Crew have been hesitant to condemn Lewis, arguing that he was only three years older than Megan and that this age difference should not be considered grooming. To that point, many TikTok users have defended Megan.
“Lewis was around 18-19, and these girls were between 14 and 16 while this was happening,” @mynamesboo1.0 says in a video covering the situation. “[He] waited until they were 16, then started to turn the relationship sexual, asking them to speak on Snapchat so people couldn’t see it… If you know someone when they are younger and you wait until it is legal… that is grooming.”
Meanwhile, other social media users have pointed out Lewis’ hypocrisy, given that he has called out other content creators for similar behaviour in the past.
Lewis and Megan did not respond to requests for comment.
Lewis has not addressed the allegations at the time of writing.