A popular YouTuber has been accused of grooming his ex-girlfriend, who met when she was 14 and he was 21.
Zach Justice, 28 — co-host of the hit Dropouts Podcast with over 1.27 million YouTube subscribers — is under fire for his past relationship with 21-year-old musician Indiana Massara.
Both strongly deny any romance occurred before she was over 18, but social media users have continued to say they are still “disgusted” by the situation.
The couple reportedly dated sometime between 2020 and 2022 before splitting. However, they stayed in touch as friends and were even happy about their relationship when they were exes.
In March, Indiana, who is originally from Australia, appeared in Dropouts – where she was also a presenter – to discuss the way their relationship is viewed.
Zach Justice, 28 – co-host of the hit Dropouts Podcast with over 1.27 million YouTube subscribers – has come under fire for his previous relationship with musician Indiana Massara, 21. Pictured: 20 and 27 years old during a relationship
She explained that they met when she was 14 and he was 21, because her mother hired him to edit her videos.
“He worked for, I think, my mother at the time,” she said.
‘He edited my YouTube videos and in return I got a room in my mother’s apartment.
I literally can’t tell you how much of it was that absolutely nothing happened.
“Yeah, I hope not, you were 14,” Zach added.
Indiana continued: “So many things have happened… comments, Reddits, TikTok videos, everything.
“Saying I’m the victim, saying Zach manipulated me, stuff like that — and I want to fucking make that right.
“Number one – I am not a victim. Every time you guys constantly create these stories about this crap that happened when I was 14, you constantly devalue real victims and real people who have been in those situations.
Both have vehemently denied the claims that there was anything romantic before she was over 18, but social media users have still commented that they are “disgusted” by the situation. The photo shows the pair as friends when she was 15 and he was 22.
The couple were known to have been in a relationship sometime between 2020 and 2022 before splitting, but remained in touch as friends and were even content about being exes together
‘I’ve been in situations like that with some terrible people, but Zach isn’t one of them.
“I’ve been in abusive relationships. I’ve been in situations with older men who took advantage of younger women in California, and that didn’t happen at all – it never happened.”
‘I edited for her mother for a couple of months, whatever it was, and then I didn’t… [Indiana] “For years,” Zach added.
Indiana confirmed that they didn’t get in touch until two and a half years later. Old Instagram photos show Zach going to the movies with her when she was about to turn 16 and he was 22.
In March, Indiana, who is originally from Australia, appeared on Dropouts – which she also hosted – to discuss how their relationship is viewed
The duo then went on to share how around that time they realized they worked well together on video and that this encouraged them to create more content together.
Zach said that at the time he said, “I’m only doing this if brother and sister are happy because I don’t want anyone to think we’re anything because we’re not.”
Indiana added that she also had a boyfriend during that time and that she didn’t see Zach through a romantic lens.
She also spoke openly about the abusive relationship she was in as a teenager. Later, she reportedly filed for a restraining order against her ex-partner. Zach helped her with this.
“You were in an abusive relationship with someone and I saw you as a friend of sorts,” he said.
The pair talked about how it was around this time that they realized they worked well together on video and were encouraged to create more content together. Both pictured at Indiana’s 19th birthday party
Despite the couple denying all allegations of grooming, viewers have criticized Zach as a “creep” and a “predator.” The pair in 2020
“And I just talked to you, and I wanted to be there for you as a big brother…”
It’s unclear when the two officially started dating, but speculation online suggests Indiana was around 20 years old.
Zach, who had 5.5 million followers on TikTok, denied in a podcast episode that she was in a relationship with Indiana when she was “just 18.”
Photos from her Instagram show the couple in pictures of each other, cuddling, from around 2021, when she would have been 19 and Zach 26. However, it has not been confirmed whether they were together at the time.
In a 2020 podcast episode of The world of Wesamwhen the two were just friends, and they said they met when Zach was editing her videos and staying with Indiana’s family for a few months.
It is not known exactly why Zach and Indiana broke up. As reported by To distractIndiana struggled with her mental health and often suffered from panic attacks, while Zach claimed that “he had never been treated worse in a relationship than he was with her.” The couple reportedly split in late 2022.
Although the duo deny abusing him, viewers have criticized Zach as a “creep” and a “predator.”
It’s unclear when the pair officially began dating, but online accounts have speculated that Indiana was around 20 years old. Zach also denied dating Indiana when she was “only 18” in a podcast episode. Pictured in January
In a 36-minute video earlier this month, the creator said Movie Cooper described the signs of grooming and compared it to the duo. According to him, old footage of the two, showing them being intimate and cuddling when Indiana was a teenager, now seems awkward.
TikTok creator Zina (@zinaaweemaa) also noted that as a teenager, Zach would constantly comment and like Indiana’s posts.
“It’s clearly a joke, it’s clearly flirtatious,” she said. “What are you doing on a 15-year-old girl’s Instagram as a 22-year-old?”
Zach responded to the video saying, “I would never do that actually because I’m actually a respectable human being. Twisting things to make someone a bad guy is a weird thing to do.
“I hope you get your life back on track. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you.”
In a follow upZina then said, “Can we explain how this is okay? How does it make sense for someone in their 20s to know a girl for years until she turns 18 and then date her?”
She then referenced jokes Zach made about another influencer friend of his, Tara Yummy, 24, who he jokingly called a “pedophile’s dream” in a podcast because she’s “small and petite.”
Zina also shared DMs Zach sent her, in which he insisted he did nothing wrong. However, she remains committed to her content and stresses that influencers need to be held accountable.
Representatives for Indiana told MailOnline they had ‘no comment at this time’.
MailOnline has also contacted Zach for comment.
