Wilbur Soot has come under fire after Shelby Grace, better known as Shubble, streamed live on Twitch talking about an abusive ex-boyfriend. Soot has now shattered his previous “soft boy” image.
Shubble’s Original Video
Grace made a stream in late 2024 called “talking about something more serious.” She made claims that an ex-boyfriend of hers was physically abusive towards her in the form of biting. There was also mention of this ex living in filth, even having an ant infestation when they visited his home in England. They left out Soot’s name at the time, leaving fans to speculate who she was speaking about.
It was not always so bad. In the beginning, he swept her off her feet, writing poems and doing grand romantic gestures to win her over. He also claimed very early in the relationship that he wanted to get married and have children. In hindsight, he was likely engaging in love bombing, a common manipulation tactic.
Eventually, she was introduced to his bite, and what started as a quirky way to show affection eventually became a source of pain for her.
They claimed that he would leave her “covered in bruises all the time” when they were together. Their ex would apparently make jokes that it looked like he was abusing her.
This would hurt Grace so much that the two ended up making a safe word that she could say when it hurt too much. According to her, sometimes when she would say the safe word, this ex would “grind his teeth down” before letting go.
She ended this stream by warning her audience that abuse could happen to anyone. They added that everyone should be watchful both for themselves and their friends.
Wilbur Soot’s Response
It didn’t take much time for long-time fans to put together who she was speaking about. Soot fit the bill perfectly. His ability to write love songs, history of biting, and known ant infestation made it obvious. Soot confirmed that he was the aforementioned ex when he put out a response on X.
Soot said in his response that he admits to being “slobbish, disrespectful, and selfish” during their relationship, but that he has changed since that. He was “shocked” at his ex-girlfriend’s claims of abuse because he thought his biting was “consensual, playful, and reciprocally enjoyed.” He apologizes for the pain he had caused before ending off with a message of self-improvement.
The Internet’s Reception to the Soot Situation
Both the general public and content creators alike reacted negatively to his response. The majority had taken to Grace’s side feeling that Soot had not taken accountability for his actions and made the entire post about himself.
Many audience members had chosen to wait for his response before passing judgment, and this sealed the deal for the majority. Fans of Wilbur Soot shared their disappointment and frustration with him in the replies to his post. Especially since Soot had attempted to portray himself as a feminist.
A small section of fans however claim that they still need more proof in order to believe Grace’s claims. Both parties have received death threats. Grace says that people are sending her gore, porn, and threats of sexual assault.
Previous friends and co-workers of theirs also stepped up to show support towards Grace. Additionally, told their audiences to support victims. Alex Maldonado (better known as Quackity) put out a statement saying that Soot would no longer be involved with QSMP, a popular Minecraft server that a select few streamers could play on.
Dream, a Minecraft streamer and co-worker of Wilbur Soot, replied to his post on X with a response condemning Soot and his actions. In the end, he praised Grace’s story.
Some other people who have made a response include Ranboo, Aimsey Tubbo, Nihachu, and many more.
Shubble’s Follow-Up
Grace responded to this by thanking everyone in a post on X for supporting her and expressing disappointment in her ex-boyfriend’s response. In a follow-up post, they said they did not accept his apology.
After this, on March 5th, they went live on Twitch to have a quick chat with her audience about the situation. She clarifies that their relationship with Soot happened in 2022 and early 2023. Grace also insists to those questioning her that the biting was not the problem. It was the fact that he was purposely hurting them and continuing to do so after she said the safe word. That is what made it abuse and assault.
Grace brings up their mutual friends’ support of her as well. She claims that these friends have their own experiences with Soot to base their opinions on. They are not solely basing it on her words.
While addressing Wilbur Soot’s apology towards her, she points out that he did not use her name. They took this as a sign of disrespect since saying her name would have been the “bare minimum” in her eyes. She felt it was disingenuous and negated his claim that he had grown since they had been together.
Alice’s Story
On March 8th, Alice, a cosplay YouTuber, posted her own story about Soot on X.
She claimed that he would belittle her career and interests as well as ignore her struggles with self-harm while they were in a relationship in 2019. She held off talking about him due to fearing his audience. In 2021, she says that he attempted to take her clothes off while she was intoxicated. Alice makes it very clear this was not consensual. She also states that Soot called her a “lesbian” the morning after because she “wasn’t interested in him.”
As with Grace, most of Alice’s audience seems to support her. However, there are a few people who claim the photos of the two of them look photoshopped.
People are now waiting for his response to these new allegations.
The Bigger Picture
Many have noted this as a part of a trend in Minecraft YouTubers being problematic. However, I and a few others have noted this as a part of a bigger trend when it comes to alternative musicians.
Everyone who listens to alt music lives in fear of a member of their favorite band being outed as an allegedly terrible person.
Mike Fuentes from Pierce the Veil, Jack Barakat of All Time Low, Rej Forester of GRLwood, and Ronnie Radke from Falling In Reverse are just a few musicians who have had allegations thrown against them. All their allegations involve abuse of some sort.
This trend is by no means new.
Elvis Presley, Ringo Starr of The Beatles, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith all have a shady past that fans either don’t know about or choose to ignore.
According to The Guardian, last year, Steven Tyler was sued for allegedly sexually assaulting Jeanne Bellino while she was a minor in the 70s. This came after Julia Holcomb Misley’s lawsuit against him for similar reasons. Although Misley was 16 when the abuse started for her. It also lasted for about three years since she was allegedly in a relationship with Tyler.
Regardless, Tyler admitted to being in a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old he had legal guardianship over in his memoir.
This shows that this trend of rock artists allegedly being scummy is nothing new.
This culture of exploiting women and young girls is still heavily prevalent as we see musicians take advantage of their power and influence over their victims. Either their audience will take care of them, or their career vastly overshadows these allegations. Many victims will simply stay quiet to avoid the negative attention it will bring. Many of these musicians are also incredibly wealthy which undeniably gives them a leg up in the legal system.
Conclusion
Shelby Grace has not reported Wilbur Soot to the police for the abuse he allegedly put her through. They have not disclosed the reason for this, but victims of abuse can have different reasons for not going to the police.
Abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, etc. Things only become trickier when fame and money join the mix.
It is important to be watchful and aware of what is going on around you.
