I want to tell Miranda's story more broadly than what I have been in these five-minute videos on the Internet. She can live in a longer format.
— Colleen Ballinger
Even before I was in New York, I couldn't even count how many places I lived in L.A. Definitely over 10.
In the beginning, people watched me to hate on me. They thought Miranda was a real person. People just couldn't understand why this strange girl was so confident. And then slowly, I started getting fans.
My fans are my family. I love them so much.
Life isn't always wonderful.
I would do whatever the haters said they didn't like. They'd say, 'I don't like your lipstick,' so I'd put on more.
When Miranda first started becoming popular, not many people knew who she was. People were confused by her. They thought she was a real person. I got a lot of interesting responses.
Miranda was built by her haters.
The process of getting into Miranda mode is simply making sure I'm as gross as possible. I make sure I'm wearing funky clothes and a lot of lipstick, and I'm good to go.
I really tried to take advantage of my 15 minutes of fame. And I've gotten lucky - those 15 minutes have become several years.
I watched a lot of old movies, and a lot of Carol Burnett and Andy Kaufman.
There are a lot of people who don't respect what I do.
Fans like to give me things they think Miranda would like.
I have a lot of photos of my grandparents - they're my heroes, even though they've passed away. They were always happy, positive, loving to everyone they met, and a huge inspiration to me and the reason I do what I do.
I have no hard feelings towards Disneyland. I love Disneyland so much. I want to go every day. I loved every single day that I worked there.
The fact that I went from making a minute-and-a-half video in my bedroom to doing an hour-and-a-half live show is just crazy.
To have the ability to look back on the problems that weren't big problems after all is something I think we can all learn from.
I've seen every episode of 'Seinfeld.'
As much as I love L.A., I don't want to live in L.A. I feel very congested when I'm in the city.
Miranda is confidently untalented at singing. Very off-putting. Shrill. But she thinks she's wonderful, so power to her.
I am obsessed with my viewers.
I chose to share my life online, so I can't really complain about it. There's not much that's off limits.
I always admired Netflix's business model; they are really good at what they do.
I have always wanted to tell Miranda's backstory. To me, it's so fascinating that as a YouTuber, everyone knows what we show them. No one knows what goes on when the cameras are off. I always thought, what would Miranda do in her time off?
Clowns are meant to make people smile. That's my goal.
A lot of people think most YouTubers are just untalented kids who film themselves for four minutes, and that's all they do for their week.
I think for me, the best comedy comes from when something feels real and genuine, so even though Miranda is this wacky character, there is a real vulnerability to her that we finally get to show in 'Haters Back Off,' and I think that's what makes this comedy rich and more fulfilling, at least for me.
The thing I needed to learn about Miranda was where her motivation comes from when she gets upset. There's been a few times where Miranda's a brat or crying online, and it seems very surface level, and I think that I needed to learn where her insecurities came from, because online she just comes across as kind of bratty.
The things that I gravitate toward in film and TV are things that make me laugh but then break my heart.
I've spent 10 years checking my analytics on my end to see what people were talking about and what they like.
My brain is a pretty intense, wacky place, and that's kind of where Miranda lives. But that's why I like the rest of my life and my stuff to be more clean, white, and simple without a lot of clutter.
Miranda, my character, cannot sing, cannot act, and is really inappropriate.
I have a whole new perspective on pregnancy and motherhood now that I'm experiencing it. Just because it's so hard and so confusing and so exciting. Women are so amazing that their bodies can do this and that they're strong enough to do this. I can't believe almost every woman goes through this, because it's so hard.
My fans have been so sweet and supportive.
Miranda's my character; I created her! But there's a lot of comedy I want to bring to the world that isn't just Miranda.
It's fun to just be an awful human being.
I've always been very open and very honest with my fans. I want them to know that I'm genuine, and I am who I am, and I'm not faking it for the camera.
I think we all have a little crazy in us.
I share more than most people probably do online.
I've always done YouTube myself: everything is written, edited, produced, and promoted by myself.
How it works: it's like I have a tour, so there's, you know, some income from that. We have merchandise. There's income from that. Then on YouTube, there's ad revenue... so, you know, YouTube puts ads on the videos, and we need a little bit of that.
Everything was based on my life and the way I grew up. Some of the bits I'm most proud of in 'Haters Back Off' actually happened.
It's been hard being on the Internet and not being respected by people in Hollywood.
My favorite movies were 'Singin' in the Rain' and stuff that had a more classic comedy type feel, that more slapsticky stuff. It's the comedy I've gravitated towards.
Miranda's this girl that everyone's just laughed at online for years. I want people to empathize with her.
On YouTube, I've stayed very limited with what I've been willing to share, so it's been very surface-level with Miranda.
I love music, and playing ukulele and singing makes me really happy.
Oftentimes, when I'm trying to get inspired, I'll find myself just staring at the wall and let the fans inspire me to get creative.
Miranda is extremely tacky. I personally want to edit my videos well, but I have to keep Miranda's character in mind, so there are bad angles, flashy cuts, and sparkles everywhere.
I'm the luckiest girl in the world.
