The Cody Ko Situation Is Getting Worse (2024)

Allegations against popular Canadian commentary YouTuber Cody Ko have been building for weeks, but a new video by fellow YouTuber D'Angelo Wallace brought the claims to much broader attention.

At the beginning of the video, D'Angelo warned:

The video ("An uncomfortable conversation about Cody Ko") was short, clocking in at just under 15 minutes.

In it, Wallace endeavored to quickly summarize the situation, the parties involved, a timeline of the allegations, and why they've come up repeatedly:

As of July 16, Cody Ko hadn't posted a new video in three weeks — and increasingly angry fans called his silence "deafening."

Editor’s note: This article contains brief mentions of sexual assault, abuse, or other related topics that could be triggering to some readers and survivors. If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, please visit RAINN.org. The National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673) is available 24/7.

How The Cody Ko Allegations Started

Cody Ko (born Cody Kolodziejzyk), now 33, not only has his own extremely popular channel, but also collabs with other big name YouTubers often.

Cody is married to Kelsey Kreppel, also a YouTuber, and the couple welcomed their first child in January.

Ko is popular in part because he's engaging, funny, and friendly — when you watch his videos, it can feel like hanging out with a witty friend.

On June 28, a popular post on Reddit's r/youtubedrama alluded to then-recent comments made by fellow YouTuber Tana Mongeau, adding that the claims were starting to gain traction:

In late May, Tana hosted a live episode of her podcast, Cancelled, and answered a series of "hot seat questions."

In that segment, someone posed a decidedly not serious question to Tana about men she'd hooked up with and their respective anatomical traits.

Tana answered the question, immediately saying "Cody Ko," before adding that she was 17 at the time:

Notably, Tana's late May live segment of Cancelled was not a situation in which it looked like she intentionally discussed what happened between herself and Cody.

She was answering an unrelated question, one which happened to bring Cody to mind — although the allegation was serious in nature, it appeared to occur spontaneously.

Tana didn't seem to be intentionally leveling an accusation at the time, but the exchange above is where the claim first surfaced in the recent spate of rumors.

Tana Later Addressed The Cody Ko Situation On Her Podcast, 'Cancelled'

On June 21, Tana Mongeau uploaded Episode 88 of Cancelled, "Brooke Finally Reveals Her A-List Boyfriend."

Neither the title nor the description box made any mention of the Cody Ko allegations, but in that episode, Tana revisited what she'd said on stage, and spoke a bit more about her experience.

One hour and eight minutes into the video, Tana hinted at a difficult topic of discussion, and appeared to describe the May Cancelled event and her comments about Cody Ko as "trauma dumping."

Tana also suggested that she hadn't anticipated the fallout from her mention of Cody, adding that she wasn't blaming herself "for [the Cody Ko] situation":

"I'm learning a lesson once again that I've learned so many times ... I can't just be saying [expletive], and I don't want to blame myself here for this situation.

"But it's like, I'm now in this position to have to address it, because there I went again, saying [expletive], you know.

"And it's just a classic case of 'I say something fleeting in the ways that I say something,' and then it is taken very seriously because I'm usually trauma dumping and breadcrumbing ..."

Tana spoke a bit more before she mentioned Cody directly, and spoke in a manner suggesting that she felt it was irresponsible not to clarify the now-viral comments she initially made.

Tana described the incident as "a crime," likely alluding to the fact that the age of consent in California is 18 (and the age of consent in Canada, Cody's home country, is 16):

"However, I understand that this isn’t just some crazy tea, it was a crime ... yeah, and I've tried to talk about this a million times, and I feel like I never have the right words.

"But it's everywhere, all over the Internet, and I know people want me to talk about it, and I’m going to do my best right now.

"You know, I mean, I hooked up with Cody Ko when I was 17, and he was 25. Yeah, it happened."

Mongeau, 25, said being that age made her question the incident further, and she added: "I don't associate or hold [the incident involving Cody Ko] with trauma."

Cody Ko Remains Silent As Prominent YouTubers Demand A Response

What has been called "the Cody Ko situation" has been a slow-moving controversy, gradually picking up steam as prominent influencers and YouTubers address it one by one.

On July 14, the video by D'Angelo Wallace served as a tipping point, racking up more than 1.5 million views — and it's worth watching for a multitude of reasons.

Wallace was exceptionally fair and comprehensive, and speculated that Tana's admission was slow to attract notice due to her standing as an internet personality:

"We both know that Tana Mongeau is a YouTube personality with a history of lies, controversy, and genuinely problematic behavior that's become so entangled with her brand that her podcast is called Cancelled With Tana Mongeau."

In essence, D'Angelo seemed to suggest that tension between Cody Ko's likability and Tana Mongeau's previous scandals worked to suppress a statement she'd made repeatedly.

During the June podcast episode, Tana asserted that YouTuber Gabbie Hanna sought to intervene and said Mongeau was "underage," and D'Angelo pointed out that Gabbie told the "exact same" story years prior, but didn't identify the parties involved.

Wallace added that "corroboration by a third party [Gabbie] goes a long way" in substantiating the claims, and called reactions to Tana's accusation "unsurprising, but incredibly disappointing."

D'Angelo said commenters were "acting like [Tana is] only doing this to gain clout or ruin [Cody Ko] somehow," pointing out that Mongeau hadn't made a video (which presumably, she would have done had she been seeking clout).

He continued, lamenting that users "[implied] that a 17-year-old could have truly consented to any of this," and addressed Cody directly as he concluded:

"But let’s be clear about one thing: that is not the case.

"No amount of retroactive age calculations or what-if scenarios change the fact that what Tana described would be, objectively speaking, a crime.

"A crime ... which you’ve said absolutely nothing about.

"And even if this wasn’t illegal, you remember being 25. You would’ve known then, as I currently know at age 25, that nobody this age should need an explanation for why a 17-year-old is off limits.

"Because you remember being 17, too."

One day after D'Angelo Wallace's video was published, another prominent YouTuber (@penguinz0/MoistCr1TiKaL) chimed in with "[The] Cody Ko Situation is Crazy":

As it stands, the Cody Ko allegations remain controversial — and Cody has yet to acknowledge them.