Kat Tenbarge is an American journalist, who is currently working as a tech and culture reporter for NBC News after previously working as a senior reporter at Insider. [1] She specializes in reporting on internet culture and influencers, including her own views and commentary. Tenbarge has reported on several cases of sexual assault allegations against Internet personalities, [2] and her work and views concerning internet culture are frequently cited in other publications. [3] [4] [5]
Tenbarge studied journalism at Ohio University, where she was also the editor-in-chief of one of the school's student publications, The New Political. [6] While at Ohio University she majored in environmental studies and journalism, winning regional first place in news reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2017, and received a $4,000 grant from the White House Correspondents' Association the same year. [7]
In October 2020, Tenbarge reported on sexual assault allegations against Jeffree Star, after she was approached with the allegations by the accuser unprompted. [8] In January 2021, she reported on allegations of child grooming against YouTuber CallMeCarson. [9]
On March 26, 2021, Tenbarge reported on the alleged rape of a woman in 2018 during the filming of a video by David Dobrik. [10] [11] The incident was reported to have taken place while the woman was inebriated, and was allegedly committed by Dom Zeglaitis, who was at the time a member of Dobrik's Vlog Squad. [12] The woman had agreed to work with Tenbarge, who said that she had been waiting for an outlet that would allow her anonymity. [10] This report resulted in widespread backlash against Dobrik, including the withdrawal of support from several sponsors of his YouTube channel, and ultimately resulted in him stepping down from his position at Dispo. [10] [5] [13]
On December 2, 2021, Tenbarge announced on social media she would be a tech and culture reporter for NBC News which will end her previous employment with Insider. [14] As an NBC News reporter, she later wrote about, with Tyler Kingkade, the charging of Justin Roiland with felony domestic battery and false imprisonment in Orange County, California, in connection with an alleged incident in 2020. [15] She has also written about Amber Heard, Elon Musk, Ye, Angelina Jolie, the arrest of influencer Andrew Tate, the Russo-Ukrainian War, and other topics as an NBC News reporter. [16]
Tenbarge also runs a newsletter called The Kids Aren't Alright, published through Substack. [17] [4]
Joshua Michael Peck is an American actor and comedian. Peck began his career as a child actor in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and had an early role on the Nickelodeon sitcom The Amanda Show from 2000 to 2002. Peck rose to prominence for his role as Josh Nichols alongside Drake Bell's character on Nickelodeon's Drake & Josh from 2004 to 2007, and in its two television films, Drake & Josh Go Hollywood (2006) and Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh (2008).
Daniel Peter Masterson is an American actor. He played Steven Hyde in That '70s Show (1998–2006), Milo Foster in Men at Work (2012–2014) and Jameson "Rooster" Bennett in The Ranch (2016–2018). In May 2023, Masterson was convicted of raping two women in 2003—charges from a third woman resulted in a hung jury—and in September 2023 he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. Masterson is a Scientologist, as were his victims at the time. The Church of Scientology's pressure on the victims to silence them, and subsequent interference, resulted in a 20-year delay in bringing the crimes to justice.
Jeffree Star is an American internet personality, makeup artist, and former singer-songwriter. He is the founder and owner of Jeffree Star Cosmetics.
Mark Justin Roiland is an American voice actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known as the co-creator of Adult Swim's animated sitcom Rick and Morty, for which he formerly voiced the protagonists Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith, and as the co-creator of Hulu's Solar Opposites, in which he formerly voiced the main character, Korvo, until both networks severed ties with him in 2023. He had also played Earl of Lemongrab on Adventure Time, Blendin Blandin on Gravity Falls, and Oscar on Fish Hooks. He founded the animation studio Justin Roiland's Solo Vanity Card Productions! and the video game studio Squanch Games, though he resigned from the latter in 2023.
Rick and Morty is an American adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The series follows the misadventures of Rick Sanchez, a cynical mad scientist, and his good-hearted but fretful grandson Morty Smith, who split their time between domestic life and interdimensional adventures that take place across an infinite number of realities, often traveling to other planets and dimensions through portals and on Rick's flying saucer. The general concept of Rick and Morty relies on two conflicting scenarios: domestic family drama, and a misanthropic grandfather dragging his grandson into hijinks.
Escape the Night is an American reality television series created, hosted, produced, and owned by Joey Graceffa. The series follows fantasy plots based on horror and murder mystery aesthetics. The series premiered on June 22, 2016, through YouTube Red. The series concluded its fourth season on September 4, 2019, making the longest-running series on YouTube Premium until 2020. After the cancellation of the series, the creator announced an upcoming film and set up a fundraiser.
James Charles Dickinson is an American beauty YouTuber and makeup artist. While working as a local makeup artist in his hometown of Bethlehem, New York, Charles started a YouTube channel, where he began uploading makeup tutorials. In 2016, he became the first male brand ambassador for CoverGirl after a tweet featuring his makeup went viral online.
Jason Eric Nash is an American comedian and Internet personality. Known for his channel on Vine, he also appeared on Last Comic Standing in 2010. Nash has written, directed, and starred in a pair of films: Jason Nash is Married (2014) and FML (2016). In 2016, he started to appear in David Dobrik's vlogs as a member of "The Vlog Squad" and later started his own YouTube channel.
The H3 Podcast is a comedy podcast hosted by Ethan Klein. The show airs live five days a week on YouTube and was first launched on Twitch by Ethan and his wife, Hila Klein.
In October 2017, The New York Times and The New Yorker reported that dozens of women had accused film producer Harvey Weinstein of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse over a period of at least 30 years. Over 80 women in the film industry eventually accused Weinstein of such acts. Weinstein himself denied "any non-consensual sex". Shortly after, he was dismissed from The Weinstein Company (TWC), expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and other professional associations, and retired from public view.
Dávid Julián Dobrík is a Slovak Internet personality. He found early success on the video-sharing platform Vine, before starting his vlog on YouTube in 2015. In 2019, he co-founded the photography app Dispo. Dobrik entered the United States as a child, and was later protected under the DACA program, before eventually being granted permanent residency.
Nikita Nguyen, known professionally as Nikita Dragun, is an American internet personality, YouTuber, make-up artist and model.
Call Me Kat is an American television sitcom largely based on the British sitcom Miranda by Miranda Hart that aired on Fox from January 3, 2021 to May 4, 2023. The series stars Mayim Bialik as Kat, and includes Cheyenne Jackson, Kyla Pratt, Julian Gant, and Swoosie Kurtz. Leslie Jordan was also featured until his death on October 24, 2022. The series was developed by Darlene Hunt. In May 2023, the show was canceled after three seasons.
Jeffrey R. Wittek is an American YouTuber, comedian, and podcaster. He runs the series Jeff's Barbershop and the podcast, Jeff FM.
Abbie Richards is a misinformation educator and environmental activist whose conspiracy theory charts went viral on Twitter in 2020 and 2021.
The Jessi Slaughter cyberbullying case was an American criminal case that revolved around an 11-year-old named Jessica Leonhardt, whose profanity-laden videos went viral on Stickam and YouTube in 2010. The videos were made in response to accusations that a friend had raped Leonhardt, and that Leonhardt had a sexual relationship with the lead singer of the electropop band Blood on the Dance Floor, a man named Dahvie Vanity while Leonhardt was a minor. This resulted in a campaign of telephone and internet harassment against Leonhardt and their family, chiefly attributed to the Blood on the Dance Floor fanbase on 4chan as well as alleged members of the internet-based group Anonymous. It began a debate about the dangers of anonymity on the Internet, and whether or not the Internet is a safe environment for minors, and all people in general.
Frenemies was a podcast hosted by Trisha Paytas and Ethan Klein on the H3 Podcast. The podcast focused on discussing personal experiences, pop culture, internet drama and mental health. It consisted of 39 episodes and two accompanying vlogs. Paytas and Klein's friendship was occasionally tumultuous, leading to episodes that were incomplete due to a verbal argument. The podcast came to an end during its 39th episode, after a dispute with Paytas and Klein about podcast revenue and production ownership. Despite this, "Frenemies" gained recognition in the podcasting realm and found a place in numerous Top 50 lists, frequently pulling in millions of viewers per episode.
Dispo is an American photo sharing and social networking app owned by Dispo, Inc. and co-founded by CEO Daniel Liss, Slovak YouTuber David Dobrik, and Natalie Mariduena. When the app initially launched on iOS in December 2019, it briefly charted as the most downloaded free app on the App Store, ahead of both Disney+ and Instagram. The app was rebranded and relaunched as Dispo, expanding from a single-player camera to a full social network in March 2021.
Zoe LaVerne Day , is an American social media personality. She became famous for her videos on the video sharing app Musical.ly.
Killer Merch LLC is an American merchandising company co-owned by beauty YouTuber Jeffree Star. It also manages ecommerce, design, production and fulfillment.