How It All Started: The Video

On April 2, 2018, when she uploaded a video on her YouTube channel to her three million plus fans. The video titled, “Why I Won’t Be Attending VidCon 2018: A Rant,” lasted about an hour and nineteen minutes. Overall, she talked about her love for VidCon and how she always wanted to attend the convention, but could never afford it. In 2015, she decided that she wanted to make videos and put them on YouTube so that she could help others to smile and feel good about themselves, especially since “YouTube saved her life”. She wanted to be a guide for people of all ages who came from a rough upbringing and let them know that “it gets better”. She added to the ideal image of VidCon, remarking that it was a “fantasy land” and a “safe haven”.

Over the course of six months in 2017, Mongeau promoted her YouTube series, Escape the Night, without getting paid for it, and was eventually told that she was not a “featured creator” (headliner) at VidCon. At this point, Mongeau was angrier and more upset than she had been before. Not being a “featured creator” at VidCon meant that once again, she would have to hide under blankets and sneak through the venue to avoid large crowds in order to get to her panels safely. She was not allowed to enter backstage passageways that the featured creators were allowed to go through, even though she knew them and could have gotten to her panels on time because of them.

It was not until 2018, when she still held onto hope and the assurance that VidCon gave her that they would guarantee her that she would be a “featured creator” that year. For the third time once again, she was not a “featured creator” and not only that, she was banned from VidCon for life. At the end of her rant video, Mongeau made a promise to her millions of fans that she would have a convention of her own. She said it would be for all of the unwanted, rebellious people who could all be together in a different setting. 

As of today, the video currently has over 3.6 million views.