Police in Eugenia Cooney's hometown have been flooded by calls from worried fans, according to the department's sergeant.
Brent Reeves, a police sergeant in Greenwich, Connecticut, told TMZ that he'd been fielding calls from all over the world about the 29-year-old YouTuber because of her thin frame.
Some came from as far afield as New Zealand and Egypt, he said.
Cooney has been an online creator since 2011. She is one of the most polarizing figures on the internet, for reasons very different to the controversies surrounding other canceled YouTubers.
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She's built a reputation among her 2-million-strong followers — some of whom object to her thin frame, which they say sets a damaging example for her younger followers.
Some have also raised the alarm about her fan community. Three former fans of Cooney's previously told Insider that they believe they were subjected to grooming behaviors on her Discord server, where vulnerable young women congregated.
Cooney's appearance — specifically her weight — is disturbing to many followers, who have raised concerns for many years. Insider has previously reported that there were users on social media who described Cooney's content as "thinspiration".
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Conspiracy theories about her family, including rumors she died, have spread about Cooney since 2015. In 2021, for example, there were theories she was about to go into cardiac arrest, leading police to show up at her house.
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Reeves told TMZ he has known Cooney for over a decade. He told the outlet that the conspiracy that Cooney is being forced by her mother to stay slim and make content is untrue, and she is safe and well.
He said he and the YouTuber also have a code — she places a "certain object" in frame in her videos if he needs help.
Sergeant Reeves also commented on Cooney's weight, saying he cannot force her to eat. He said Cooney is "of sound mind" and likes chicken sandwiches.
Insider reached out to the department for further comment.
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Speculation about Cooney's health has intensified in recent years: one petition to have her removed from YouTube received 10,000 signatures, and another more than 50,000. Experts told Insider that deplatforming Cooney would be unlikely to help.
Cooney disappeared from the internet in February 2019, saying she was seeking help with her doctors. She returned five months later in a documentary hosted by fellow YouTuber Shane Dawson, where she said for the first time that she was in recovery from an eating disorder.
Cooney said she was involuntarily detained for mental-health reasons — colloquially called a "5150 hold" — which she described as traumatic. Fans praised her for a return and for continuing her recovery.
Cooney, meanwhile, continues to post on YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok, amassing millions of views. When fans on livestreams ask her about her health, she insists she's healthy, and there is nothing to worry about.
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In some videos, she seems to make light of the concerns. In a recent TikTok, for example, she dressed up in exercise gear.
"I [thought] it was finally time to reveal my workout routine for everyone…" she wrote.
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