YouTubers Shane Dawson And Ryland Adams Are Planning For A Baby After Pedophilia Controversy
The reactions are mixed.
YouTube Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams are planning to have a baby. Adams revealed the couple’s plans to become parents in a recent YouTube video.
The couple have been in a relationship since 2016 and became engaged in 2019, in a well-documented proposal.
However, the normally uber-public couple has kept their relationship somewhat private for the past year as Dawson continues his YouTube hiatus following controversy over past “jokes” about pedophilia, racism, and bestiality.
Are Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams having a baby?
In a video posted on June 22, Adams showed off a baby t-shirt that he purchased as a souvenir during a trip to Cabo, Mexico with Dawson.
"A baby shirt because we because we, like, want to have a kid so if we start putting it out into the world with our purchases it will come true," Adams said to his sister Morgan.
Morgan then enquired about how the couple plan to conceive or who will carry the child.
"That's what we don't know yet,” Adams replied. “We're thinking about it, but this is our first step into putting energy into the world about wanting to have a kid so we got a little baby Cabo shirt."
Fans expressed concern over Shane Dawson becoming a father.
Across social media, reactions to the news were mixed.
In the wake of Dawson’s controversy, some expressed concern over his ability to raise a child.
Clips from old videos and interviews that resurfaced last year show Dawson making several comments about searching for child pornography online, instructing minors to perform sexual acts for his camera, and acting out sketch scenes involving masturbating over a cutout of a minor.
Dawson has profusely apologized for the clips, which he said he believed were jokes at the time.
The comments, jokes or not, reflect a disturbing lack of judgment about what is acceptable to say to or about children.
However, Dawson has maintained that the comments and footage was sensationalized for entertainment purposes and don’t reflect his true character.
Others defended the couple and their expanding family.
Other fans defended Dawson and Adams online, pointing to the time that has elapsed since Dawson’s controversy and his decision to become a father.
Dawson has remained off YouTube for a year and most of the controversial clips date back to several years before that.
If his apologies are to be believed, Dawson has had years of reflection and growth that has, hopefully, made him more discerning and better equipped to care for a child.
Dawson has hinted at returning to YouTube and says that he has been “re-evaluating” his life. His comments offer hope that he has changed his problematic perspectives on race and child and animal welfare.
As he, in his own words, figures out what he wants to do with his life, planning for a family might drive a new sense of purpose.
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Catch her covering all things social justice, news, and entertainment. Keep up with her Twitter for more.