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The ProJared social media drama has been unravelling in real time.
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on May 11, 2019
People haven't been this wrapped up in couples drama since General Hospital's Luke and Laura captivated the nation. So who is Heidi O'Ferrall and how did she react to her husband's affair? Getting cheated on by your rat bastard husband is bad enough. But when your husband is YouTube “celebrity” ProJared, and the cheating drama unfolds in real-time, it’s an extra layer of awful. And that’s the reality for the long-suffering Heidi O’Ferrall, who deserves a lot better than the garbage she’s been getting from ProJared. There’s literally no reason on Earth why she should settle for this level of disrespect — as the old saying goes, “love is blind, but the neighbors ain’t” — but here we are. Let’s look at what we know about Heidi O’Ferrall, ProJared, and the still-unfolding scandal.
1. Her husband requested nude photos from underage fans
In the “ew, gross, throw the man under the train” news, the scandal first started when ProJared — whose real name is Jared Knabenbauer — was, according to The Verge, requesting nude photos from fans. At least two of those fans were underage — and according to the Verge report, ProJared knew they were underage at the time he requested the photos.
ProJared is accused of requesting nude photos from underage fans.
2. The bombshell accusation came just a few days after the Austin Jones scandal
According to The Cut, who released extensive details of the scandal in real-time, the ProJared scandal came just days after the Austin Jones scandal was concluded. The Cut reports that Jones, who was another popular YouTube celebrity, was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison for soliciting sexually explicit photos from minors. ProJared, who is a gamer that has millions of followers on YouTube, will probably find himself in the same situation.
3. ProJared is also accused of being abusive to Heidi O’Ferrall
According to ComicsBeat, the drama between ProJared and his soon-to-be-ex-wife kicked off — where else? — on social media. ProJared took to Twitter to announce that he and Heidi were divorcing, and made it sound like it was a “mutual decision,” calling it everything short of a “conscious uncoupling.” Then, Heidi found out that her soon-to-be-ex-husband blocked her on all social media accounts. And that’s when she went on a tear, going into extensive detail about how ProJared was not only cheating on her with a former friend but that he was emotionally abusive towards her, as well.
Check out her full statement, as posted on Twitter, below.
4. Heidi O’Ferrall made clear that ProJared and “Commander Holly” were dating behind her back.
According to Newsweek, at the base of Heidi O’Ferrall’s accusations against ProJared lies the accusations of adultery. The target of her justifiable rage is, of course, “Commander Holly” (a/k/a Holly Conrad), who regularly appears on ProJared’s channel. “Conrad was formerly married to animator and Game Grumps contributor Ross O’Donovan (who has remained quiet on social media). She responded to Knabenbauer’s original statement on Twitter, writing: “I'm so sorry you’re going through this. I’m here for you if you need me.” After receiving a massive amount of internet backlash, she posted a follow-up saying, “this isn’t anyone’s business but there's (sic),” reports Newsweek. “Chris Perkins, who runs a Dungeons and Dragons podcast with Conrad and Knabenbauer, has also remained silent on the accusations.”
So, it’s not clear whether “Commander Holly” is admitting to cheating with ProJared. However, what is clear that as a result of this drama, ProJared’s followers have gone down significantly (as of this writing, by more than 200,000), and he may be in more trouble than he’d been prepared for previously, especially if it can be proven that he received nude photos from underage fans.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. Find her online at www.bernadettegiacomazzo.com and www.longlivetheuprising.com.