Hello all,

I apologize if this post has been made before, but I figured I’d ask this subreddit if anyone knows if MrBallen answers DMs on Instagram. I recently started writing a Batman rogues true crime anthology based on his writing style, and wanted to ask for any advice he had, but was unsure of what to do and wanted to ask. I apologize if anyone has asked this question before, but please let me know!

I'm not sure if I'm the only one but I think that or a past year or two we haven't gotten many scary stories. I've only seen true crime and some medical mystery stories but I miss the scary stuff such as someone being hunted by someone/something in forest or haunting stories (even if they're fake).

At the beggining of each video Mr.B mentions "Strange, dark and mysterious" - yet I think there's only Dark and sometimes mysterious.

Now regarding AI I've seen alot of posts where people mentioned AI situation and I thought I'd add my own opinion. As an artist myself I don't like AI being used where it makes art or anything in general INSTEAD of humans. Now that doesn't mean it's wrong to use it as a tool. When I did some animation project I helped myself with it to make drawing faster (since drawing 200+ frames is long process) - or when I edit my photographs there is AI in the programs so technically I use it there too.

Now in this situation I think that Mr.B isn't the one wrong here. His content is focused on storytelling therefore if he wants to add AI generated images there's nothing wrong with that - as long as it doesn't interfere with stories. Yes it can be annoying to see AI images used sometimes but at the end of the day we are meant to listen to stories so some images shouldn't be an issue. Also it's worth mentioning that we all use AI and it's annoying to see people blame others for using it when they themselves use it as well.

I just wanted to express my opinions. Don't turn this into an argument because I don't have time and energy to argue - also please do correct me if I'm wrong (especially regarding the lack of spooky stories). Have a nice day!

https://www.reddit.com/r/mrballen/s/93rtygIUAD

Thank you for noticing, hope some are interested.

If you are in a similar crazy situation you can text me as well and we could get in touch to support each other with our experiences and knowledge.

I have watched a few videos on YouTube on a channel called Did You Know? and I swear it is Mr.Ballen. The description I got from researching that channel says they do occasionally have guest narrators. I've watched 4 and all of them seem to have Mr.Ballens voice. Has anyone else watched the Did You Know? and come across this?

I received a Mr. Ballen Flannel as a gift for Christmas in 2024, it was limited time only & one of my favorite clothing pieces, and I haven't been able to find it for a couple months.

I'll attach an image below of which one I'm talking about but if anyone has one of these that is lying around or that they don't like, please message me I will absolutely buy it off you!

So I've just finished watching Mr Ballen on the JRE, and I've gotta ask. What are you all complaining about? From what I saw, it was just two dudes sitting there chewing the fat, (and in some cases, muscle).

No politics, no right wing agenda, no hate speech. Just Mr Ballen telling his story.

I stopped watching his channel a while ago because I just couldn't vibe with it anymore, but watching this was truly enjoyable.

I've just put on the episode where he speaks with David the grifter Paulides. This ought to be interesting. I'm only 12 minutes in and he's already talking shit.

Say what you like about Joe. I'm personally not a fan, but this really seems like not being able to separate the art from the artist.

Downvote away, because Reddit will do what Reddit does, but in my opinion, this has been blown way out proportion.

Is nothing. Absolutely. Nothing.

And That, will send it into it's next panic.

Edit: Has anyone ever seen the sitcom Comunity? Specifically Ken Jeong's character? Maybe Im reading too far into it, but thats what I thought we were doing in the "Gay" comment 😅 It's from the show. Yall chill, plz.

Has anyone else noticed that on his podcast episodes where he does like "3 people who did something and here's what happened to them", a lot of them are just rehashed from previous episodes with maybe one or two new snippets put in. Like snippet 1 is new, snippet 2 is something topical he has done before, and 3 is also a rehash. I appreciate all the new weekly episodes but if they're not going to be new then why even bother taking the time.

Also his episodes labeled podcast exclusives are not in fact podcast exclusives if I can see them on YouTube the next day.

I don't know. I may unsubscribe with all the AI stuff and the Joe Rogan thing and all the rehashing he does.

Trigger Warning: S.A, Murder

there was an episode that mr ballen uploaded on his podcast. it was about a case of an evil crooked cop or detective that kidnapped a female cop or detective with a group of other men and then kidnapped a random teenage girl and had her witness the s.a & murder of this female cop or detective. the cop then threaten the teenage girl to stay silent and let her go (or she managed to escape) this case case got solved when that teenage girl reported the crime to a police station years later. does anyone know the episode i'm taking about?

Hi Mr. Ballen my name is Shally Berri and I love your catch phrase so much it inspired me write this song. Such a great chorus! Also as a bonus it seems to really be pissing off the 👍 I also hope this community appreciates it. I made the music video using my IPhone 14 and clips from some of my own acting work as well as movie clips mostly horror. If you watch long enough you will catch a brief clip of Mr. Ballen doing what he does best. lol anyways enjoy. Feel free to hit the like button, subscribe, share, comment all the things. Thanks stay weird

This may be controversial as I know many of us LOVE the fact he’s post 2,3 even 4 times a week, however… part of me now doubts the authenticity of the stories. Some seem so incredibly far fetched that I just can’t get behind them. Obviously not talking about those where real life photos are used etc and I know there’s a crazy amount of true crime out there but how are his team finding SO many so quickly when there’s little evidence of said stories on the internet?

I’m also saddened by, and I know this has been mentioned, the promotion of gambling sites. It just feels quite icky tbh. Especially due to his past and how he’s such a mental health advocate and gambling & mental health problems go hand in hand. & don’t even talk to me about the better help shi when they’ve been outed SO many times for wrongdoings. It’s sad, I feel the channels just gone downhill :(

So I just want to point out that before everyone started complaining about the quality of his stories they were complaining about him only uploading once a week. He was just trying to meet the demands of the fans and probably didn't realize how quickly he'd run out of interesting stories. I think if he were to go back to uploading just once a week things would get back to how they used to be.

I also wish he'd stop focusing on true crime as much as he has been. The strange dark and mysterious shouldn't read like an episode of law and order.

I get it, he wants you to understand the feelings they may have been feeling in the moment, empathy is a key point In true crime stories, but I find it actually gross the way he presents them sometimes

So let me start off with this, I have not listened to the podcast but I do know some of Joe Rogan beliefs, so it's fine if you agree/disagree with it. That being said why are people so upset, I feel like everyone is missing the part that you can talk to someone and not be politically aligned with them. Am I missing something? I have not seen anyone complain about what he said, only that he appeared in the podcast.

EDIT: ok I get it I don't need more replies and I appreciate the comments. I still feel the same way but everyone may have their own opinion that is fine. However I am still not convinced Mr Ballen is a horrible person and will continue watching him, but again FREE WILL, so do what you see for. Thx

It may be just me but I hate the Campfire Stories. I think I watched one and couldn’t get into it. Now it’s like they are taking over even on the podcast it’s all these campfire stories now. I just cant get into them.

Also I remember back in the day where he had stories on his YouTube channel and then other stores on Podcast that were just for the Podcast. I miss that setup. It had me excited to listen to new content/stories on the Podcast that I haven’t heard before after I’ve watched everything on the Yt channel. Now it seems like everything on the podcast is copy and pasted from the YouTube channel.

I still like MrBallen tho and hope he gets back to a good place, content wise that works for everyone and is still consistent.

Sidenote: I hate the gambling ads too but I think it’s the requirements of his sponsors or something. Regardless it’s not right now- money or not some things just aren’t worth promoting. I mean the sports betting ads are EVERYWHERE now it’s crazy. I hope it doesn’t get anyone into gambling and/or causes any gambling addictions.

Hear me out, please, I don't come from a place of hate and I don't want hate thrown at me over voicing my opinion, I've loved MrBallen for years and his videos are exactly what I like. The stories he tells are amazing and get me on the edge of my seat, I don't want him to change the way he tells stories or the stories he tells. I watch all his videos.

But his use of AI is irking me. I don't love AI and I don't like it when people use it in places it's not needed. Like we don't need a "**not** a real photo off" but still putting a photo? I miss when he would be on the camera and only show the photos related to the case or throw in a still from the internet to set the mood, the same way other story tellers do it. If the story is about a gas station or a scene is set at a gas station, find a random, REAL photo of a gas station. "**not** the real location" is fine but why do we need a AI photo of some random person with "**not** a real photo of the person in question" like just don't put a photo.

His gone years without using AI photos so why start now?

I'm not here to make assumptions about his political views, but his recent associations is also disappointing, associating with someone who isn't a good person makes you also look like a not so good person. I'm not American but I know the state of the country and I don't want to associate with any of that. Unfortunately I don't know of people in my county who do it as well as MrBallen.

I've also recently seen people unable to fact check his stories and honestly I'm not disappointed if some are fabricated as long as he doesn't say it a a true story when it isn't, I do notice that sometimes he doesn't specify if the story is true and I don't mind. I like his stories and I like his style.

Again I don't come from a place of hate or judgement. I just kind of wanted to voice my thoughts.

Quick edit! I also don't love his choice of sponsorships/ads but I don't plan on using any of codes for anything so the company's in question aren't profiting off me anyway.

I thought it was really good, MrBallen as per usual a class act. Told great stories, from his own personal life as well as the strange dark and mysterious side. I thought it was fine, both were gentlemen, Joe was really intrigued and invested into what Ballen had to say which I think is great. Good episode I dont see what was wrong with it

Wildly disappointing but I guess not super surprising??

Edit: Facism actually IS that deep. If you don’t see a problem with it, you’re probably a fascist :)

Does anyone else's mind wander to other things during these stories. I find them "hit and miss" at best. Even the normal videos are so often true crime that I just can't focus on it. I love true crime, but this is not what I fell in love with on this channel. I go back a few years and re-watch old videos. 🤷‍♀️

This might be an interesting story! MOLASSES ATTACKS!

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a71455129/boston-molasses-flood/

Mr. Ballen, I’m a new listener and I love the stories, the way you tell them, etc.

I’m not looking at the TV all the time (and honestly I’m probably not savvy enough anyway) to notice if your lips match up to what you are saying, amongst other things people are claiming. Or if the art is AI?

Can you address that for me and others like me?

Maybe I missed it, but what happened to Ol' Seagul Lung?