Who is Yung Filly? How Colombian refugee rose to fame as £1.5m YouTuber is arrested over alleged hotel rape
Yung Filly - the YouTuber and internet personality arrested on rape and assault charges in Australia - might be one of the most successful people youve never heard of.
Yung Filly - the YouTuber and internet personality arrested on rape and assault charges in Australia - might be one of the most successful people youve never heard of.
The 29-year-old, real name Andrés Felipe Valencia Barrientos, is among the legions of content creators who have made a name for themselves by amassing huge followings online.
After leaving school with four GCSEs and trying his hand at working as a broker, he began posting comedy skits online himself and with collaborators - leading to TV presenting jobs and the start of a music career.
Prosecutors in Perth, western Australia, have alleged that he assaulted a woman in a hotel room after performing at a concert at the Bar1 venue in the Hillarys area of the city. He sought to be anonymised in court - a request refused by the judge.
Now out on bail ahead of a further court hearing in December, Yung Filly has been told he must remain in Australia and not communicate about the case online. He spoke in court only to confirm his name and that he understood the charges.
Yung Filly, real name Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, was arrested in Australia on Wednesday on suspicion of rape (pictured on The Great Celebrity Bake Off in 2022)
9News broadcast footage of the YouTuber being escorted in handcuffs after being extradited from Queensland to Perth, Western Australia
He also took part in Soccer Aid in 2020, playing for England alongside other celebrities and top football stars
His millions-strong internet following has led to numerous brand collaborations, including with Heinz and German Doner Kebab (Filly, left, with fellow content creator Harry Pinero)
He also embarked on a music career and had released a single in the weeks before his arrest in Australia
The internet star was born in Colombia in 1995 before his family fled the country during the countrys decades-long civil war, moving to Lewisham, south-east London when he was just two, living above a chicken shop.
He told Amazon Prime in 2020: Im most proud of the fact that I was a refugee, Im proud that I had to struggle.
It makes you appreciate all the little stuff a lot more. I dont think I really took in how poor we were.
He was single-handedly raised by his mother Maria - who he has since provided for off the back of his success.
He left school and became a broker at the age of 17, boasting in one interview how he was making racks - slang for thousands of pounds.
Bro, I was 17 making like seven to ten racks (thousands of pounds). I was good, he told YouTube channel Yiannimize.
But I wasnt good, because I didnt give my mum a penny so Im a wasteman really.
He then joined YouTube in November 2013 after a video about his ex cheating on him went viral with millions of views on Facebook.
Videos saw him creating comedy skits and hosting awkward question and answer sessions with members of the public in London.
Filly then joined up with The Wall of Comedy group of burgeoning internet stars and, around the same time, began pursuing his music career, releasing singles Take Time, La Paila and Mucho Mas across 2017 and 2018.
He made his name online as a content creator, frequently collaborating with others such as Chunkz (above)
His burgeoning internet career led to presenting jobs with the BBC such as on Hot Property (above)
Later, he would collaborate with star rappers Chip (formerly Chipmunk) and Aitch on singles Day to Day and Grey, respectively, and had released a new single, Tempted, shortly before embarking on the Australia tour.
His presence on camera led to presenting jobs with BBC Three - the corporations hotbed for new young talent - on dating show Hot Property and Dont Scream, a game show.
He also began collaborating with Beta Squad - a supergroup of YouTubers that includes Chunkz, real name Amin Mohamed, and Deji Olatuji, the boxer brother of content creator and entrepreneur KSI.
Then the calls came rolling in: playing for England in Soccer Aid 2020 alongside the likes of John Terry and more BBC jobs, sharing presenting duties with Chunkz in a series of videos for Match of the Day spin-off MOTDx.
He appeared on Would I Lie To You, and secured a coveted spot on the Channel 4 charity challenge, The Great Celebrity Bake Off for SU2C, in 2022.
Once more alongside Chunkz, he hosted the Mobo Awards recognising music of black origin in 2022, after winning Best Media Personality together the year before.
Earlier this year, he took to the pitch again for the Match for Hope, a Qatari charity football match, playing alongside the likes of Ricardo Kaká and Didier Drogba.
The follower counts are dizzying: 1.84million on YouTube, a doubling in three years; 3.2million on Instagram and the same on TikTok; two million regular monthly listeners to his music on Spotify.
Yung Filly appeared alongside Didier Drogba in the Match for Hope, a Qatari charity football match
His success has led to collaborations with brands such as ASOS and Heinz
Alongside frequent collaborator Chunkz, he won the Best Media Personality at the 2021 Mobo Awards and the pair hosted the show the following year
He also hosted fan battle segments for BBC Match of the Day spin-off MOTDx, which aired on the show as well as online
Comments on his YouTube, Instagram and TikTok channels have been paused or otherwise disabled since he was arrested earlier this week
Earlier this year, Yung Filly appeared on the Jonathan Ross show where he spoke about being able to help his mother to retire
And, as with all internet stars, brands came calling. Recent Instagram posts have seen him posing in Asos clothes and promoting a new Heinz Secret Sauce, launched at the German Doner Kebab chain of fast food restaurants.
He also co-founded Girth N Turf FC - a virtual football club in the EA FC football franchise - which boasts Wayne Rooney and darts sensation Luke Littler among its star signings and plays in the digital leagues top tier.
Just last month, Filly shared a reel of photos on Instagram which included pictures of him hanging out with England striker Ivan Toney and rapper Aitch.
The YouTuber also appeared on the BBCs Jonathan Ross show earlier this year alongside Oscar-nominated actress Kirsten Dunst, Industry star Marisa Abela, Lionesses goalkeeper Mary Earps and Madness.
On the show, he told the audience about how he knew he had made it when he retired his mother from working at Poundland.
He said: She used to work in Poundland and it got to the point where people would see the resemblance between me and her and go, "Are you Fillys mum?".
And some people would ask for pictures and she got really embarrassed.
I remember I gave her a call once and I told her "Mum you can quit your job, Ive got you now".
She didnt know how to take it. Months went on, she was still working and I said "Mum seriously you aint got to work again. Then I made her my PA."
Yung Filly has racked up more than three-million followers on Instagram and 1.84million subscribers on YouTube
He has also worked with several fashion brands, including recent collaborations with ASOS and Perplex
Comments on his Instagram, YouTube and TikTok channels have been disabled today after Filly was arrested in Western Australia this week.
He faces four counts of sexual penetration without consent, three of assault and one count of impeding a persons breathing after allegedly attacking a woman in his hotel room after the Perth show on September 27.
Filly was arrested in Brisbane, Queensland on Tuesday and transported to Perth on Wednesday night to hear the charges at Perth Magistrates Court earlier today.
WAToday reports that lawyers for the YouTuber applied for anonymity in the case and that police opposed giving him bail due to the nature of the allegations, CCTV evidence and the possibility he could interfere with witnesses.
ABC reported that fans of the star appeared to gather in the public gallery to watch proceedings while three men who appeared to have a connection with the YouTuber declined to speak to reporters as they left the court.
Magistrate Tanya Watt granted bail, but imposed conditions requiring him to remain in Western Australia and not to speak about the case on social media.
He was ordered to pay a $100,000 undertaking, must also surrender his passport and will report to police three times a week.
