Sounak Sengupta
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Onision: In Real Life: Banana Power’ follows the controversial life of Gregory Daniel Jackson, better known by his Youtube stage name Onision. He has been accused of abuse and got tied up with several other controversial affairs since 2011, with the charges seemingly getting more serious over the years. But who exactly is Gregory Daniel Jackson, and what did he do? Here’s what we know as of now.
Who is Gregory Daniel Jackson?
Gregory James Daniel was born in Auburn, Washington, on November 11, 1985. In the show, his father, Randy Daniel, described Gregory as a happy-go-lucky child who was introverted and spent his time around computers. Very little is known about his childhood except for what Gregory has chosen to disclose to his fans online. He claimed he was a Seventh-day Adventist like his mother and sisters until his pre-teens. In one of his videos, Gregory claimed that his mother divorced Randy once it was “made clear that his father was a child predator.”
Gregory later changed his name to James Jackson but is famously known by his online alias Onision. He created his YouTube channel in 2006 but started uploading content only after October 2007. He focused mainly on sketches and satirical clips and has 3 channels as of 2022. His primary channel ‘Onision’ has over 2 million subscribers and over 330 million views, while his vlog channel ‘OnisionSpeaks’ has over 1.4 million subscribers and over 550 million views, and his secondary channel ‘UhOhBro’ has around 2 million subscribers and over 370 million views.
Onision’s earliest video clips featured him goofing around with his first wife, Skye Tantaga, and a character named Chibi that was loosely interpreted as a satirical representation of Fred Figglehorn. But he catapulted to fame with his 2009 ‘Banana Song (I’m a Banana)’ that showed him prancing around in a bright yellow banana suit. While the whole premise of the video was inherently silly, it got featured on the Comedy Central series ‘Tosh.0’ as the “Viewer Video of the Week” in 2010. It went viral, earning him internet fame as a YouTube content creator.
As of 2022, the video has garnered more than 91 million views and remains the most-viewed video of Onision. Following a messy breakup with Skye and an IRS audit in 2010, Onision had a chaotic decade where he was suspended from platforms, and his YouTube channels were demonetized as many women came forward with accusations of child grooming against him and his spouse, Kai Avaroe; Onision and Kai got married in 2012.
Onision was not new to controversy, with him being banned from VidCon 2012 after he posted an online video where he reportedly passed derogatory comments about his erstwhile girlfriend, Adrienne Jorgensen. While his fame skyrocketed since his ‘Banana Song’ video, he received much backlash and criticism online for his contentious takes on controversial topics and his strongly opinionated videos. A 2012 article by The Daily Dot claimed that Onision was “known for his militant vegetarianism, sex appeal, comedic skits, and controversial views on topics like circumcision.”
Often touted as one of YouTube’s most “troubled” stars, Onision landed in a fresh controversy in 2019 when at least six women came forward and accused Onision of being sexually groomed as minors by the YouTube star and his partner, Kai Avaroe. Following his response to the allegations wherein he revealed the phone number of one of the accusers, he was banned from the platform Patreon on charges of doxxing.
Where is Gregory Daniel Jackson Today?
Onision got entangled in a series of controversies that led him to file a complaint against the investigative reporter Chris Hansen after the latter knocked on his door for an interview. He ultimately got the lawsuit dismissed after it got filed against the wrong Chris Hansen. He and Kai were also accused of child abuse after his 2-year-old daughter fell out of the window of his two-story home. There are also reports of multiple open FBI investigations against him, which the agency neither confirmed nor denied.
After careful review, we can confirm this creator’s channels have been suspended from YPP indefinitely for violating our Creator Responsibility policies. More -> https://t.co/hGiJ3jUb3j
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 20, 2021
Following the release of the show, all three channels of Onision were demonetized by YouTube as he was removed from the YouTube Partner Program in January 2021, citing abusive behavior and violating their creator responsibility policies. However, Onision is free to upload videos on his channels and continues to do so while residing in Washington with his spouse and children. It is to be noted that Gregory Daniel Jackson aka Onision has not been charged for any of the allegations made against him.
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