Marina Joyce scandal
Comment: Previously deleted during Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Marina Joyce.1timeuse75 (talk) 16:11, 16 April 2026 (UTC)
| "Date Outfit Ideas" | |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Marina Joyce |
| Starring | Marina Joyce |
| Cinematography | Cheryl Joyce |
Release date |
|
Running time | 2 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Search Marina Joyce scandal on Amazon.On July 22, 2016, British beauty YouTuber Marina Joyce uploaded a video entitled "Date Outfit Ideas" (stylized in all caps). In it, Joyce is advertising the fashion brand StyleWe. The video gathered concern by Joyce's fans, citing her strange behaviour. Many conspiracy theories where made, including that Joyce had been drugged and kidnapped, with many being false. The hashtag "#savemarinajoyce" went viral, and became one of the top trends on Twitter, being shared over three million times. "Date Outfit Ideas" had over 43 million views before it was removed from her channel in 2019.
The scandal would gather mass media coverage by many outlets. The Metropolitan Police, put out a statement about Joyce saying she was "safe and well." Joyce would later tweet that she was fine. Joyce's mother, Cheryl Joyce, debunked some of the claims made by conspiracy theorists in article by The Guardian. As of 2026[update], Joyce is still uploading videos to her YouTube channel.
Background
Marina Rose Joyce is a well-known British beauty YouTuber. Joyce career began in 2010,[1] and is known for her makeup tutorials.[2] Joyce is from North London, and was 19-year-old during the scandal.[3][4] In 2016, Joyce had roughly 600,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel.[5] As of 2026[update], Joyce has over two million subscribers.[6]
Video
"Date Outfit Ideas" is a sponsorship with the e-commerce platform StyleWe.[1] In it, Joyce is seen in her back garden showing three dresses. While Joyce shows off the dress, the camera operator's (who was Joyce's mother, Cheryl Joyce[7]) finger was accidentally visible from the side of the frame.[8] A jump cut shows Joyce in her room showing two more dresses. While spinning around, bruises covering the back of her arms are visible.[2][8] The video ends with Joyce and her friends in a park showing more outfits, before cutting back to Joyce's back garden thanking the viewer for watching.[9]
Interpretations
Marina Joyce, In the intro of "Date Outfit Ideas"[9]
Many of Joyce's fans where concerned about her apparent strange behaviour in the video and that she's sometimes repeated herself.[5] "Date Outfit Ideas" was analysed by viewers in detail, with some concluding Joyce was being held hostage.[10][7]
The scandal became widely popular after an anonymous fan published a post on JustPaste.It,[8] breaking down the video going moment-by-moment and saying Joyce may have "ranging from having been kidnapped to having overdosed on drugs" and "is attempting to send a subtle cry for help."[11]
Many conspiracy theories where made about the video,[12][13][14] including that: Joyce was being held hostage in the video, or had been kidnapped by the ISIS,[15] or by an abusive boyfriend.[12][13] Other theories are that Joyce whispers the phrase "help me," 13 seconds into the video,[2][7][8] and that Joyce was having overdosed on drugs.[16] Almost all of the conspiracy theories where false.[6][8][16][17]
Release and popularity
"Date Outfit Ideas" was released on July 22, 2016.[11] Within five days of upload, it got over 16 million views.[3] As of 2019[update], it has over 43 million views.[9] Her YouTube channel subscriber count would go up by 1.4 million.[7] "Date Outfit Ideas" has been removed from her channel.[18]
A hashtag #savemarinajoyce went viral, became one of the top trends on Twitter.[2][5][11] The hashtag was shared over three million times,[6] and became the number one trending topic worldwide.[8] On July 26, Joyce would posted a message inviting fans to a morning party at Morning Gloryville, in Bethnal Green, London, scheduled for August 3. Fans got more concerned by this, thinking she was still being "held captive."[5] English YouTuber Alfie Deyes tweeted about the fan meet-up, telling fans not to go.[5]
Responses and aftermath
Marina Rose Joyce via Twitter @MarinaJoyce7 Im TOTALLY fine guys, i am feeling very good today and its actually so heartwarming to see so many people care about me
July 27, 2016[19]
The scandal would gather mass media coverage by many outlets.[17] On July 27,[8] the Metropolitan Police,[20] visited her parents’ home, publicly put out a statement about Joyce saying she was "safe and well."[1][5] Joyce would also tweet: "Im TOTALLY [sic] fine guys, i am feeling very good today and its actually so heartwarming to see so many people care about me."[5][6][7] On July 28, American YouTuber Philip DeFranco interviewed Joyce. In the interview, she denies doing any drug use.[16][21]
Joyce's mother, Cheryl Joyce, told the Guardian "She’s just been caught in the middle of something peculiar that the pair of us don’t even understand." Cheryl also debunked some of the claims made by conspiracy theorists, including: the "help me" heard in the video, was Cheryl telling Joyce to turn around “like me,” and the bruises on Joyce's arms where from a fall Joyce had a few weeks before "Date Outfit Ideas" was shot.[7]
In September 2016, Swedish YouTuber PewDiePie, was suspended from Twitter after making jokes about the Islamic State kidnapping Joyce.[22] In a 2017 YouTube video, she said “I simply don’t want you to believe any of the conspiracy theories because none of them are true.”[6] On December 9, 2022, Joyce uploaded a video titled "Saving Marina Joyce - My Story" (stylized in all caps), in where she talks about her experience during the scandal. Joyce also publicly announced that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, explaining her strange behaviour.[18] As of 2026[update], Joyce is still uploading videos to her YouTube channel.[7]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Meet Marina Joyce, the YouTuber whose videos led fans to call police". The Independent. 2016-07-28. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Bruner, Raisa (Jul 27, 2016). "Here's Why Fans Are Concerned About YouTube Star Marina Joyce". TIME.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Why you care so much about what happened to Marina Joyce". The Independent. 2016-07-28. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
- ↑ "The tortured Internet undoing of YouTuber Marina Joyce". The Washington Post. 2016-07-27. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 "YouTuber Marina Joyce says she is 'totally fine' as fans express concern". BBC News. 2016-07-27. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Dixon, Emily (2019-08-10). "Missing YouTuber found 'safe and well' after 10 days missing". CNN. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Cresci, Elena (2016-08-09). "How it feels to be at the centre of an internet kidnapping conspiracy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 Tait, Amelia (2016-08-04). "The strange case of Marina Joyce and internet hysteria". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 DATE OUTFIT IDEAS. Archived from the original on 2019-04-11. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
- ↑ "Here's why people think Marina Joyce has been kidnapped". The Independent. 2016-07-31. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Staff, Snopes (2016-07-26). "What Happened to Marina Joyce?". Snopes. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Griffin, Sarah Maria. "Marina Joyce: from empathy to entitlement in one angry mob". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Marina Joyce has posted her first video since people thought she was kidnapped by Isis". The Independent. 2016-07-29. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
- ↑ "Who is Marina Joyce and why do people think she's been kidnapped?". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
- ↑ Krayewski, Ed (2016-07-29). "#SaveMarinaJoyce and the Fickle Nature of 'Compassionate' Meddlers". Reason.com. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "YouTube star Marina Joyce denies drug use after kidnap drama". BBC News. 2016-07-28. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Cooke, Henry (2016-07-28). "#SaveMarinaJoyce: conspiracy theories about British YouTuber go viral". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Dodgson, Lindsay. "The strange story of Marina Joyce, the YouTuber who people thought was kidnapped in 2016, and now blames it on her brain 'dying'". Business Insider. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
- ↑ Marina Rose Joyce [@MarinaJoyce7] (July 27, 2016). "Im TOTALLY fine guys, i am feeling very good today and its actually so heartwarming to see so many people care about me" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ "YouTuber visited by police and falsely rumoured dead addresses panic in livestream". The Independent. 2016-07-27. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
- ↑ DeSantis, Marissa (2016-07-29). "YouTuber Marina Joyce Responds to Kidnapping Theories and Drug Abuse Rumors". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
- ↑ "YouTube star PewDiePie suspended from Twitter after IS joke". BBC News. 2016-09-01. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
External links
- "Date Outfit Ideas" on YouTube (archive)
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