Who is Dan Avidan? Game Grumps host and musician accused of grooming underage fans, here's the shocking truth
Musician Leigh Daniel Avidan is being accused of allegedly grooming underage fans after a rantGrumps subreddit revealed shocking 'Video Evidence of the Dan Accusations'. According to reports, this isn't the first time Avidan has been accused of such behavior as, over the years, he has also been accused of "sexting, sleeping with and ghosting" younger fans.
r/rantGrumps, which is a subreddit that criticizes The Game Grumps, a YouTube gaming comedy group, saw a post from a user that reportedly contained evidence that was shared with them by an alleged victim of Avidan.
The post also features a video of the musician in a hotel room in a hot tub back in 2017. There were also images of screenshots of alleged text conversations between Avidan and the victim that seem to be "sexual in nature" and also sees the accused asking the victim for explicit videos.
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What are the current allegations against Avidan?
According to reports and the subreddit, the victim had revealed that she had reached out to the musician when she was 17 and he was 34. They had exchanged texts about meeting up and sparking a friendship when he was in the area.
The user who shared the post on the social discussion platform also revealed that the conversations between the alleged victim and Avidan became "sexts" after she turned 18, a legal age which then saw "her meeting him backstage at a Game Grumps Live show where sexual activity occurred.” Avidan then never contacted the victim again.
Past controversies
Reports indicate that back in November 2019, Kati Schwartz, Avidan’s ex-personal assistant had "recontextualized" her experience with the #MeToo movement through the performance of a play titled 'Bad People'. Fans later said that they spotted similarities between one of the characters in the play and Avidan which led to threads about the many accusations made about the musician.
The musician's "approach" was written to be as such: "Dan's alleged approach throughout all of these encounters has been reported consistently by the women who have told their stories — he'd approach women, cultivate a relationship with them to make it seem as if he wanted to date them or have a serious relationship with them, arrange to meet them for a weekend, then after the first sexual encounter or a single weekend would ditch further contact with them," reads the reddit post.
Due to the number of posts and past allegations, it was reported that many users have figured out that Avidan was allegedly doing this from 2013 to 2017. Furthermore, one person had also said that she was "manipulated" by the musician in November 2019 when she was 30 saying, "He told me he wanted to ‘build an empire’ with me and that he loved me."
She added, "He booked fancy hotels in LA for us to have sex in. Then when I asked if we could be monogamous I never heard from him again. Next thing I know, he did the exact same thing to my friend."
Who is Dan Avidan?
Born on March 14, 1979, Avidan, (also known as Danny Sexbang) is an Internet personality in addition to being a musician and has been co-hosting the Let's Play web series 'Game Grumps' since June 2013 with co-creator, Arin Hanson. He is also an actor, a comedian and a singer-songwriter.
He is well known to have been part of the musical comedy duo, Ninja Sex Party. He graduated from Jonathan Dayton High School in 1996 before going to Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts, for advertising. He later attended Tufts University satellite campus in Talloires, France, to study botany and epidemiology.
Back in 2002, Avidan had joined the Northern Hues, a Philadelphia-based indie rock band that comprised Aron Brand, Jeff Rains, Alex Yaker, Justin Earley and Ian Creech. He was the group's lead singer and aided with the lyrics of the band's music.
The band split in 2005 due to "personality conflicts and creative differences". In 2006, Avidan form a Brooklyn-based alternative rock duo named Skyhill with Peter Lennox where he was lead singer and lyricist. They separated later.
Avidan has been dating Ashley Anderson, a film director and animator and the couple seems to be happy together. The musician also regularly posts about his relationship on his Instagram but keeps details about his personal life lowkey.
'Distressed about Dan being outed as a groomer'
Many were shocked about the allegations against Avidan — "for context there are allegations against dan avidan and I do not know much more than that. as someone who liked him i Am hurt by this but im also just gonna wait n see where it all goes bc misinfo with stuff like this tends to be all over and idk What’s goin on," wrote one user.
Another added, "So, so distressed about Dan Avidan being outed as a groomer. I’ve been a huge fan of NSP for a long time. I have a signed album, the superfan pin, I listen to their music daily. It’s like getting kicked in the nuts finding out about this."
for context there are allegations against dan avidan and I do not know much more than that. as someone who liked him i Am hurt by this but im also just gonna wait n see where it all goes bc misinfo with stuff like this tends to be all over and idk What’s goin on
— ollie/zoe! 💕 (@band_trees) March 22, 2021
So, so distressed about Dan Avidan being outed as a groomer. I’ve been a huge fan of NSP for a long time. I have a signed album, the superfan pin, I listen to their music daily. It’s like getting kicked in the nuts finding out about this.
— 🏳️🌈 Bramble 🏳️🌈 (@BrambleDraws) March 22, 2021
"Dan Avidan could've avoided this whole mess if he had just awkwardly went 'hey girl, u wan sum fukk?' to women legally old enough to buy alcohol or at least women legally old enough to buy cigarettes,'" said one user.
Another added, "Fuck Dan Avidan I looked up to him and trusted him. He was an inspiration to me and I was a fan of him for so long. I feel disgusted to know I was supporting a child groomer. Why can’t YouTubers just not take advantage of kids bro I FUCKIN HATE IT HERE."
Dan Avidan could've avoided this whole mess if he had just awkwardly went 'hey girl, u wan sum fukk?' to women legally old enough to buy alcohol or at least women legally old enough to buy cigarettes'
— stained hanes (@718Tv) March 22, 2021
TW:Pedophilia, grooming
— Jake Spears (@jtspears00) March 22, 2021
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Fuck Dan Avidan I looked up to him and trusted him. He was an inspiration to me and I was a fan of him for so long. I feel disgusted to know I was supporting a child groomer. Why can’t YouTubers just not take advantage of kids bro I FUCKIN HATE IT HERE pic.twitter.com/1H2PHCKeSx
While many tried to understand the accusations against him, fans are waiting for proof with one user writing in a thread, "This GG/Dan Avidan news is not good obv, but I still really can’t buy into it until there’s substantial evidence of actual grooming/pedophilia."
"Sure, it’s gross that someone in their late 30s to mid 40s would interact that way with a person between 18-22 years old but that’s not The accusation being thrown around. THIS is the cancel culture that people say is toxic. This is the difference between holding someone accountable vs stretching the truth pretty fuckin far to push a different narrative. I agree, sleeping with fans is gross as fuck. ie projared," the user added.
The accusation being thrown around. THIS is the cancel culture that people say is toxic. This is the difference between holding someone accountable vs stretching the truth pretty fuckin far to push a different narrative. I agree, sleeping with fans is gross as fuck. ie projared.
— rose-gold fart-dagger (@ianparaskos) March 22, 2021