MUSICIAN and streamer Wilbur Soot has been blasted once again by fans for returning to social media several months after he was accused of abusing an ex-girlfriend.
Soot, who was born William Gold, made his return to Instagram on Sunday with a video posted to his story after disappearing across social media four months prior.
Musician and streamer Wilbur Soot has returned to social media after several months[/caption]
The Twitch streamer had taken a break from posting since February after he was accused of abusing an ex-girlfriend[/caption]
At the time, streamer Shelby Grace, also known as Shubble, claimed an ex-boyfriend had abused her and left her bruised during their relationship[/caption]
Fans quickly pointed fingers at Soot, who claimed in a statement that he believed the behaviors consensual[/caption]
In late February, Soot, 27, faced accusations of abusing his ex-girlfriend and fellow Twitch streamer Shelby Grace, also known as Shubble.
SHOCKING ALLEGATIONS
At the time, Shubble went live and spoke about an unnamed ex-boyfriend who she claimed had been physically abusive during their relationship.
She claimed that the ex-boyfriend had bitten her, left bruises and poked the bruises for fun.
“He would even joke that it looked like he abused me,” she claimed.
“And eventually he did acknowledge how bad it looked that I was covered in bruises all the time, so he stopped biting my arms as often and he started biting my legs instead,” Shubble said.
While the streamer did not name her alleged abuser, fans quickly pointed fingers at Soot.
He ultimately addressed the allegations in a statement posted to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, a few days later.
“In the past week, a series of allegations have been made over my conduct from an ex-girlfriend. I want to emphasize that, although I feel it fair to offer my perspective, this person’s feelings are completely valid,” he wrote at the time.
“I have taken my time sharing this statement as I wanted to process and respond respectfully and with the hope to gain a deeper understanding for the situation.”
He went on to write that during the final months of his relationship with Shubble, Soot said he was “slobbish, disrespectful, and selfish.”
“I’ve since sought therapy to address these behaviours, making significant lifestyle changes to rectify my past actions.”
However, he said he was shocked by the allegations of abuse, claiming he had believed such behavior was consensual.
“I understood from our numerous conversations and text message exchanges on the subject, that this behaviour was consensual, playful and reciprocally enjoyed,” he wrote.
“I truly believe those personal message exchanges reflect mutual affection and understanding,” Soot went on.
“Out of respect for her, I choose not to publish them and I emphasise my perspective is not shared to diminish or invalidate anyone’s feelings.”
He extended an apology to Shubble at the time.
However, she rejected the apology saying, “My ex pretending he thought I enjoyed being hurt… and all of my friends immediately coming to my defense. The support has brought me to tears, I don’t even know what to say. I’ll be back, I’ll just be taking a little time.”
‘I’M BACK’
In his return to social media, Soot referred to his February statement, but declined to speak more on the allegations.
Instead, he explained his focus was to update fans on the plans for his band, Lovejoy.
“Hi everyone. I’m back from my break, I just want to make this quick video to briefly talk about what the four of us at Lovejoy have planned for the rest of this year,” he started out in the Instagram video.
Wilbur Soot's Rise to Fame
Wilbur Soot is an English musician and Twitch Streamer with over 5.8 million subscribers on YouTube. He made headlines in February after he was accused of abusing an ex-girlfriend.
Soot has made his claim to fame within the music and streaming communities.
2017
He first became known for being apart of the group YouTube channel SootHouse, which had over 1.2 million subscribers as of June, 2024. The channel was started by Soot and his friends.
2018
Soot launched a music-related YouTube channel sharing covers and original songs.
The channel amassed over 633,000 subscribers.
2019
Soot launched a separate solo YouTube channel, posting videos related to games like Minecraft, which now has over 5.8 million subscribers.
He soon grew his following on other streaming platforms like Twitch, where he has amassed over 4 million followers.
2021
Soot and his band Lovejoy released their first EP Are You Alright? in May 2021.
Their second album, Pebble Brain, was released just months later in October.
The second album reached number 12 on the UK Albums Chart.
2023
In May 2023, the band reached the UK Albums Chart again with their third EP Wake Up & It’s Over.
2024
In February 2024, Soot was accused of abusing his ex-girlfriend and fellow Twitch streamer Shelby Grace, also known as Shubble.
“But first, I wanted to mention some stuff that was said about me on the internet a couple of months ago, and if you haven’t already seen, I responded back in February. That response is all I want to say on the matter for now,” he said.
“I much rather talk about what the plan is for us going forward.”
Soot went on to explain that Lovejoy would be touring throughout Australia later this summer and plans to release a new single in the coming months.
“We’re really excited for you to hear it. And, of course, we’re very excited to be back in the studio, writing, and recording, and we’ll show you what we got when we’ve got it,” he said.
“But yeah, I hope you’re all well, and I’ll see you soon.”
FAN FURY
While Soot has not uploaded any additional posts to his Instagram or Twitter since Sunday, dozens of users have flooded the comment sections of old posts to blast his statement.
Many indicated they were shocked he would return to social media after the allegations of abuse.
‘Im back but I’m not gonna speak on the matter’ brushing it under the rug isn’t any better though just to talk about a band
@rainnnnnn.__Instagram User
“Nobody asked you to come back,” one wrote.
“Nah no way you thought you would come back and think everything would be fine and that people would still support you,” another said.
Others accused the musician and Twitch streamer of “brushing” the allegations aside.
“‘Im back but I’m not gonna speak on the matter’ brushing it under the rug isn’t any better though just to talk about a band,” one user commented.
“Don’ support abusers, support victims. Abusers never change. His ‘apology’ was so half a**ed and completely self centered,” another chimed in.
Shubble has not made any public statement since Soot’s return to Instagram.
Soot did not immediately respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
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