Cody Ko's Follower Count Craters As Kelsey Turns Off Instagram Comments

Summary

• Cody Ko's follower count is plummeting daily as Tana Mongeau's allegations gain traction.
• Fans are urging others to respect Cody's wife, Kelsey Kreppel, who has been targeted by angry followers amid the scandal fallout.
• The ongoing controversy surrounding Cody Ko includes new, unsubstantiated allegations, causing further damage to his social media metrics.

Ongoing controversy involving YouTuber Cody Ko has continued getting worse, as Cody's follower count plummets by the tens of thousands daily.

In case you missed it, we recently explained who Cody Ko is, and reported on recently resurfaced allegations that he slept with fellow YouTuber Tana Mongeau when he was 25 and she 17 (under the age of consent in California).

Tana initially reiterated her claims about Cody at a live event for her podcast Cancelled With Tana Mongeau in late May, and her statements triggered slow but steady calls for Ko to address the situation.

Tana's remarks in May appeared to be off-the-cuff, not initially intended to "blow up" in the manner they did — but in June, she described her experience in earnest on another episode of her podcast.

Just over an hour into the show, Tana broached the issue, acknowledging that fans had sought answers since her earlier remarks went viral:

That second accusation from Tana cemented the controversy, and Cody Ko's social media metrics began to fluctuate tremendously.

Cody Ko's sub count dropping is part of the fallout – as is the emergence of a steady trickle of additional rumors and allegations – and his wife Kelsey Kreppel recently turned off comments on her Instagram page.

Editor’s note: This article contains mentions of sexual assault, abuse, or other related topics that could be triggering for 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.

Cody's Wife, Kelsey Kreppel, Has Been Targeted By Angry Fans

Cody married fellow YouTuber Kelsey Kreppel in February 2023.

Their wedding was notable to the point that it rated a coveted mention in the New York Times, where their nuptials were profiled in its influential "Style" section.

Cody proposed to Kelsey in December 2021, and the Times' coverage opened with a line of the type that could come back to haunt them in a situation precisely like the current one:

"In a relationship open to perusal by millions of followers, the podcasters Cody Michael Kolodziejzyk and Kelsey Lang Kreppel have made a practice of not letting their favorite moments turn into content."

Whether Cody and Kelsey converted their relationship "into content" or not, Kreppel has appeared often alongside her husband in commentary videos, as in the image above.

Back in January, Cody and Kelsey welcomed their first child, a son named Otis.

From the outset of the Cody Ko scandal, conflicted fans focused frequently on Kelsey's unenviable position, particularly as a new mom.

Some speculated that the couple had discussed the alleged incident with Tana, and calls to leave Kelsey alone were common occurrences in the discourse.

On July 17, a user on Reddit's r/CodyKo urged subscribers to stop commenting on Kelsey's posts, incidentally documenting the fact that in Cody's absence, fans took his wife to task:

Despite frequent pleas to leave Kelsey out of Ko's scandal, the unwanted attention seems to have prompted Kreppel to turn off commenting on her Instagram profile on or about July 19.

Cody's Follower Count Is In Free Fall As New Allegations Surface

As of July 19, Cody had yet to acknowledge the allegations.

Fans speculated Canadian-born Cody's silence might be due to his immigration status, and potential fears the allegations could prevent him from becoming an American citizen.

All the while, though, Ko's follower count has been dropping by the tens of thousands daily, as evidenced by projections on Cody's SocialBlade profile.

Information on Ko's SocialBlade profile only goes back to June 20, with information from late May to mid-June unavailable.

On July 15 and July 17 alone, Cody lost an estimated 40,000 subscribers each date, with a total yearly follower count loss estimated at just over two million — in other words, Cody's failure to address the allegations has been costly in terms of his once-lucrative YouTube channel.

Fans speculated wildly over whether Cody would follow through with a July 19 Vegas DJing set. He attended, but no information about his appearance was available at press time.

At the same time, additional, unsubstantiated allegations have started to emerge, ranging from mild (that he and Kelsey shared a vape with fellow YouTuber Emma Chamberlain when she was 16) to concerning.

Additional focus has been placed on Cody's alleged affiliation with his Duke University frat brother, Colby Leachman, and a purported assault that occurred in 2011.

Separately, several social media users asserted that Cody "dated a highschooler" when he was 24, with many linking to a video from Cody's days on the platform Vine:

Several posters claimed that the girl in the video's name was Evie Blackburn, but didn't explain how they came by that identification.

In the comments, a user asked when Cody supposedly "dated" Evie Blackburn, and another user claimed to know her, mentioning putative "proof" of their acquaintance and replying:

"I went to highschool with both Evie [Blackburn] and Rylee [Selby] and this is 100% true. I followed Cody on Vine and thought it was cool Evie was dating him (didn't know how old he was at the time plus as a highschooler you don't realize how weird this [expletive] is).

"We were definitely around 16-17 at the time, either junior or senior year of highschool. Don't have any proof other than a highschool yearbook with her and the vines of them together but when TMG got big I did the math on the age difference and thought it was weird af."

Another user maintained that Cody met Evie at Coachella in 2015, claiming that photographic evidence to support their claims had likely been deleted:

"[Cody Ko and Evie Blackburn] met at coachella of 2015! I'm a long term cody fan and there's a picture of cody and devon with evie on codys shoulder and another girl on devons shoulder at coachella.

"And then there's another photo of them in their [pajamas] at [someone's] house. i think these photos have been deleted tho[.]"

Finally, while Cody Ko remained silent, two of his collaborators – The Cut, and Brittany Broski – allegedly deleted videos they made in collaboration with him on July 19th, prompting speculation he might be forced to make a statement.