Editing Jared (section)

==Controversy==
=== Cheating and Solicitation of nudes ===
<blockquote>“My wife Heidi and I have filed for divorce. I know this may come as surprising and upsetting for many of you, but know that we do this so that we may both seek happiness for ourselves. During this time you may see a lot of rumors, speculation and gossip going around. I ask that you make your own observations and come to your own conclusions. I will add that this decision was reached after extensive individual therapy on my part and couples therapy together. With that said, this is all I plan on stating publicly regarding this matter. Heidi’s privacy, mental well-being and discretion have always been and will remain my highest priority through all of this. It is my hope that we both exit this marriage with style and grace. I plan on continuing to do everything I can on my part to make this happen. Thank you for understanding, patience, kindness, and respect for our privacy.”

[https://twitter.com/ProJared/status/1126332309567942656 ―Jared announces his divorce]</blockquote>[[File:Heidi's_tweet_about_Jared.jpg|link=https://projared.fandom.com/wiki/File:Heidi's_tweet_about_Jared.jpg|thumb|Heidi O'Ferrall's tweet which started the controversy]]
On May 8, 2019, Jared released a statement on Twitter in which he revealed that he and his wife, Heidi O'Ferrall, had filed for divorce after having been married since 2014.<ref name="News AU">https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/marriage/youtube-star-outed-over-cheating-scandal-by-his-own-wife/news-story/751f474373924e2f966be6ba74c940cb/</ref><ref name="News AU">https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/marriage/youtube-star-outed-over-cheating-scandal-by-his-own-wife/news-story/751f474373924e2f966be6ba74c940cb/</ref><ref name="Newsweek">[https://www.newsweek.com/projared-holly-divorce-heidi-youtube-pics-jontron-1420991 https://www.newsweek.com/jared-holly-divorce-heidi-youtube-pics-jontron-1420991]</ref><ref name="PC Gamer">[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7013009/YouTube-star-ProJared-accused-infidelity-emotional-abuse-estranged-wife.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7013009/YouTube-star-Jared-accused-infidelity-emotional-abuse-estranged-wife.html]</ref> Jared wrote that the decision was reached after extensive therapy sessions for both partners, and that "Heidi’s privacy, mental wellbeing, and discretion has always been and will remain my highest priority through all this". He also stated that people "may see a lot of rumors, speculation and gossip going around", and urged readers to draw their own conclusions based on their observations.<ref name="DailyDot">[https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/projared-infidelty-atelierheidi-commander-holly/ https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/jared-infidelty-atelierheidi-commander-holly/]</ref><ref name="Newsweek2">[https://www.newsweek.com/projared-holly-divorce-heidi-youtube-pics-jontron-1420991 https://www.newsweek.com/jared-holly-divorce-heidi-youtube-pics-jontron-1420991]</ref><ref name="PC Gamer2">[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7013009/YouTube-star-ProJared-accused-infidelity-emotional-abuse-estranged-wife.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7013009/YouTube-star-Jared-accused-infidelity-emotional-abuse-estranged-wife.html]</ref> Several minutes following this post, Heidi made a series of posts on her Twitter account in which she claimed that Jared had been cheating on her with Holly Conrad, a YouTuber and the former wife of animator and ''Game Grumps'' member Ross O'Donovan, since fall 2018. Heidi alleged that Jared had been secretly engaging in sexual activity with Holly, which he denied vehemently upon questioning from her, and that she had evidence in the form of sexually explicit images and text conversations between the two which she discovered on Jared's old cell phone.<ref name="News AU3">https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/marriage/youtube-star-outed-over-cheating-scandal-by-his-own-wife/news-story/751f474373924e2f966be6ba74c940cb/</ref><ref name="News AU3">https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/marriage/youtube-star-outed-over-cheating-scandal-by-his-own-wife/news-story/751f474373924e2f966be6ba74c940cb/</ref><ref name="Newsweek3">[https://www.newsweek.com/projared-holly-divorce-heidi-youtube-pics-jontron-1420991 https://www.newsweek.com/jared-holly-divorce-heidi-youtube-pics-jontron-1420991]</ref><ref name="PC Gamer3">[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7013009/YouTube-star-ProJared-accused-infidelity-emotional-abuse-estranged-wife.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7013009/YouTube-star-Jared-accused-infidelity-emotional-abuse-estranged-wife.html]</ref> Heidi also alleged that Jared had consistently acted abusively during the duration of her marriage, insisting to her that she was the one causing any problems in their relationship and making her feel guilty for questioning his loyalty.<ref name="DailyDot2">[https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/projared-infidelty-atelierheidi-commander-holly/ https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/jared-infidelty-atelierheidi-commander-holly/]</ref> Additionally, Heidi claimed that he had spent several years sending nude photos to fans of his YouTube series via Snapchat and Tumblr, as well as requesting that they send their own in return, in what she initially perceived as an effort to create "a body-positive space for consenting adults" before learning that it had escalated beyond such a premise.<ref name="News AU4">https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/marriage/youtube-star-outed-over-cheating-scandal-by-his-own-wife/news-story/751f474373924e2f966be6ba74c940cb/</ref> Following this, nude images of Jared began appearing online,<ref name="DailyDot3">[https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/projared-infidelty-atelierheidi-commander-holly/ https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/jared-infidelty-atelierheidi-commander-holly/]</ref><ref name="News AU5">https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/marriage/youtube-star-outed-over-cheating-scandal-by-his-own-wife/news-story/751f474373924e2f966be6ba74c940cb/</ref><ref name="Newsweek4">[https://www.newsweek.com/projared-holly-divorce-heidi-youtube-pics-jontron-1420991 https://www.newsweek.com/jared-holly-divorce-heidi-youtube-pics-jontron-1420991]</ref><ref name="PC Gamer4">[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7013009/YouTube-star-ProJared-accused-infidelity-emotional-abuse-estranged-wife.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7013009/YouTube-star-Jared-accused-infidelity-emotional-abuse-estranged-wife.html]</ref> and two alleged victims named Chai and Charlie came forward with claims that Jared had engaged in sending sexually explicit photos to them as teenagers.<ref name="News AU6">https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/marriage/youtube-star-outed-over-cheating-scandal-by-his-own-wife/news-story/751f474373924e2f966be6ba74c940cb/</ref><ref name="Newsweek5">[https://www.newsweek.com/projared-holly-divorce-heidi-youtube-pics-jontron-1420991 https://www.newsweek.com/jared-holly-divorce-heidi-youtube-pics-jontron-1420991]</ref><ref name="PC Gamer5">[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7013009/YouTube-star-ProJared-accused-infidelity-emotional-abuse-estranged-wife.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7013009/YouTube-star-Jared-accused-infidelity-emotional-abuse-estranged-wife.html]</ref>

Following the allegations, Jared faced extreme backlash from various members of his fanbase. Jared's YouTube channel, which had recently surpassed 1,000,000 subscribers, suffered a considerable drop in sub count, losing 30,000 subscribers in less than a day.<ref name="Verge">[https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18538265/projared-youtube-underage-photo-allegations-heidi-ofarrel-game-grumps https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18538265/jared-youtube-underage-photo-allegations-heidi-ofarrel-game-grumps]</ref> He later lost over 120,000 subscribers, according to Social Blade, bringing his total to a little over 900,000 subscribers.<ref name="Daily Dot 2">[https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/projared-youtube-subscribers-infidelity-abuse-charges/ https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/jared-youtube-subscribers-infidelity-abuse-charges/]</ref> Members of r/jared, the subreddit page dedicated to Jared's channel, quickly turned on Jared, with administrators removing Jared as a moderator and replacing the page's description with simply "jared cheated on his wife". The subreddit shifted in focus to instead center around YouTubers JonTron and [[Scott The Woz|Scott the Woz]], in addition to memes posted shaming and making fun of Jared's alleged actions.<ref name="Kotaku">[https://kotaku.com/youtuber-projared-accused-of-sexually-soliciting-fans-1834650673 https://kotaku.com/youtuber-jared-accused-of-sexually-soliciting-fans-1834650673]</ref><ref name="Newsweek6">[https://www.newsweek.com/projared-holly-divorce-heidi-youtube-pics-jontron-1420991 https://www.newsweek.com/jared-holly-divorce-heidi-youtube-pics-jontron-1420991]</ref> In a public statement on their website, NormalBoots revealed that they would be ending their partnership with Jared, as well as updating its social media use policy to reflect their stance on the issue, revealing that they had been informed of the allegations since receiving an email in April 2019, and assuring a commitment on their part to maintaining a safe space for all creators and viewers.<ref name="PC Gamer6">[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7013009/YouTube-star-ProJared-accused-infidelity-emotional-abuse-estranged-wife.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7013009/YouTube-star-Jared-accused-infidelity-emotional-abuse-estranged-wife.html]</ref><ref name="Verge2">[https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18538265/projared-youtube-underage-photo-allegations-heidi-ofarrel-game-grumps https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18538265/jared-youtube-underage-photo-allegations-heidi-ofarrel-game-grumps]</ref><ref name="GameRevolution">[https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18538265/projared-youtube-underage-photo-allegations-heidi-ofarrel-game-grumps https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18538265/jared-youtube-underage-photo-allegations-heidi-ofarrel-game-grumps]</ref><ref>[https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18538265/projared-youtube-underage-photo-allegations-heidi-ofarrel-game-grumps https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18538265/jared-youtube-underage-photo-allegations-heidi-ofarrel-game-grumps]</ref> Gaming YouTube channel Game Grumps, which had uploaded several Let's Play videos featuring Jared as a guest, began removing these videos in light of the controversy.<ref name="Verge3">[https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18538265/projared-youtube-underage-photo-allegations-heidi-ofarrel-game-grumps https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18538265/jared-youtube-underage-photo-allegations-heidi-ofarrel-game-grumps]</ref>

On May 17, 2019, Jared released another statement on Twitter where he claimed that he and his wife were allegedly in an open polyamorous relationship with both of them having partners on the side, which he also claimed Heidi had encouraged.<ref>[https://twitter.com/ProJared/status/1129557897837342721 https://twitter.com/Jared/status/1129557897837342721]</ref> Heidi countered with a series of tweets saying that they had indeed attempted polyamory at one point, but she had "shut it down" later on due to Jared's lack of transparency regarding the relationship with Holly, and she considered their subsequent relationship infidelity. On May 20, 2019, Holly posted a Twitter thread corroborating Jared's version of events. She alleged Heidi encouraged Jared to explore his feelings for Holly, but expected nothing to happen due to Holly having expressed asexuality. Holly further alleged that when the feelings were returned, Heidi became abusive and threatened to ruin their careers, allegations Heidi denied. Jared intentionally left Normal Boots and asked that his fellow YouTubers dissociate themselves from him to protect their reputations until he was able to fight back.

====Jared's Response====
<blockquote>“What this all came down to was people saying that I was exchanging nudes with fans on Snapchat and Tumblr, and a lot of people wanna know if I did any of that. Yeah I did, and I always made it clear that it was for consenting adults only. This came about when numerous people had asked me about it and wanted to know if it was OK to do. I said yes, that it would be a safe place for people who wish to express themselves in that way and for me to express and for me to express myself in that way. It was an open invitation for those who wanted to do it, and that I wouldn't be offended, or upset, and that nothing would be shared, or saved, without explicit permission. To be clear it was an open invitation to those who wanted to participate, the choice was always up to them. At no point did I ever go through my followers list and single out individuals or screen names and pursue them, I never did that. I always left the choice up to them, let them choose to engage or not, to initiate or have nothing at all. I made a cautious effort to treat everyone with the same respect. always. And I see no shame what goes on between consenting adults. It was never meant to be an abuse of power, I never offered anyone anything in return, like making them a Twitch mod, or early access to a YouTube video or whatever. I also never threatened anyone, any kind of punishment if they didn't, or anything like that. However I wanted to acknowledge now that there was a power in balance. That comes down to who I am, and what I do. Even if there was nothing offered in return, there was still incentive for people to do it, because I am a YouTuber. It doesn't matter how neutral the intent was, just being in this position causes a power imbalance. And a lot of people saw that and were upset at me for that reason, and to those of you who feel that way, I  completely understand how you feel and why, you feel that way. And I'm sorry. I feel that what I was doing was not predatory, but it was unhealthy.”

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBywRBbDUjA ―Jared in his response video]</blockquote>[[File:Jared responding to the allegations against him.png|thumb|Jared responding to the allegations against him|210x210px]]
On August 27, 2019, Jared uploaded the video "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBywRBbDUjA YOU'VE BEEN LIED TO]" to his channel after a long absence from the internet.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBywRBbDUjA</ref> Jared revealed that the reason why he did not provide a further response to the allegations against him at the time was that he was in talks with his lawyers and wanted to wait until he had compiled evidence against all of the claims against him before he made a full response.

In the video, Jared explained that he did indeed exchange nudes with fans on Tumblr and Snapchat, but said that it was for consenting adults only and that he never forced or abused people for nudes directly - in other words it was an open invitation to people who wanted to express themselves in that way with no incentive. Jared did however acknowledge that it was an "unhealthy" thing to do and that he understood why people took issue with this practice.

Jared then provides evidence against the claims that he solicited nudes from minors, showing that both of the allegations were unsubstantiated and could not have taken place, with the one with Chai seemingly not taking place at all, and the other, Charlie, who despite Jared having indeed talked to on Tumblr, never turned sexual. He also states he had no knowledge of the two being under 18 at the time and that they lied about their age to him.

Jared also states that he never cheated on Heidi and that he was already attempting to get a divorce as early as October 2018, before he began his relationship with Holly, as well as that Heidi had refused to agree to it initially. Then Jared displayed screenshots of his messages with his divorce lawyer taken around that time. At the end, Jared criticizes all YouTubers who commented on the situation without fully understanding of the situation or to get his side of the story.