On May 13, 2024, fans were eagerly awaiting DDG’s next song, but hit refresh and got something else entirely. Instead of a new single, the media was flooded with allegations, quotes, screenshots, and photos.
With speculation around the artist they once admired, fans are questioning who DDG really is when the cameras are off. His name is everywhere, but not for his music.
From high school vlogs to record deals
DDG, short for Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr. started his career on YouTube by vlogging as PontiacMadeDDG while he was in high school. What started with comedy skits turned into the beginning of his music career in 2016, with DDG’s first few tracks produced under Zaytoven. In the following year, 2017, DDG released a diss track on Lil Yachty that went viral and landed him a deal with Epic Records in 2018.
In 2020, DDG co-founded his label, Zooted Music, signing emerging artists like Baby Rich and Autumn Corin. With his business and music ventures, the majority of DDG’s income still comes from his YouTube channel, with an estimated 50k per month.
DDG brings the booth to Twitch
DDG eventually expanded to the streaming world in 2022. He created his Twitch account to involve fans in his creative process, most notably his Hit-A-Thon. He live-streamed for seven days straight while letting fans become a part of the music creation for his Blame the chat album.
He’s also made relationships with other streamers like Kai Cenat and got involved with his Streamer University. DDG has also appeared on Kai Cenat’s Mafiathon 2 Twitch stream with his son, Halo. His appearance was short, just seen sitting on DDG’s lap. What seemed like a harmless feature on a stream ended up turning into a fight between DDG and his son’s mom, Halle Bailey.
She made an X post saying she did not consent to his appearance on the live stream or even know about it. Several fans defended DDG, though he made a video standing up for Halle. This was a month after their separation, showing a rocky start to their co-parenting arrangement.
Stirring the pot at Sidemen Inside
Early this year, DDG appeared as a contestant on Sidemen’s Inside Netflix series. Viewers overall liked DDG for being one of the more laid-back contestants and having strategic gameplay. Others disliked him, either for his current controversies outside the show or just for being a less engaging character.
DDG fit in with the group pretty well, having some lingering interaction with co-star Mya Mills. Viewers were quick to pick up on it, especially after the couple started making content together.
PK Humble was another contestant who expressed a lot of interest in Mya, whom DDG then called and told him to stay away from her. Unfortunately for DDG, he didn’t know that Mya was with PK when he called, giving everyone a little second-hand embarrassment.
This wasn’t the first time people had noticed DDG’s possessiveness over his partners, and given recent allegations, is this part of a pattern?
Revenge, regret, and relationship math
While on the show, DDG opened up about the infidelity in his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Halle. He confessed that Halle cheated on him during a break, and couldn’t get over it, so he started cheating on her, too. DDG hinted that he couldn’t get over it because the guy she was with is an artist that he listens to. This leads fans to believe that Halle cheated with R&B artist Brent Faiyaz.
This evoked a very mixed reaction from viewers, with some favoring his sharing of his side of the story and others criticizing his attempt to shift blame. In the conversation, he said, “I heard her listening to this girl’s song. So I started messing with the girl whose song she was listening to.”
You might think eye for an eye, right? Or is this a glimpse of DDG’s vindictive side, showing his desire to regain control of his relationships?
Disney level drama
In DDG’s current love life, he recently broke up with his new ex-girlfriend, Wendy Ortiz. While there is no confirmed reason why, the timing suggests it could be because of the ongoing drama and upcoming court date with Halle Bailey.
DDG and Halle confirmed their relationship in 2022, posting each other on social media, attending the BET Awards, and being featured in DDG’s music videos. While they make a cute couple, rumours of infidelity started to go around after DDG’s other, other ex-girlfriend, Rubi Rose, posted that DDG had given Halle one of her shirts on February 11, 2023. Though the couple shut down any rumours, it didn’t necessarily stop people from wondering.
The same year, the live-action version of The Little Mermaid came out with Halle Bailey playing as Princess Arielle. With this breakthrough in her career, DDG was undoubtedly proud of her, but she also had some concerns.
He released a song Famous describing his insecurities with Halle’s career. Snippets of the song saying “Filmin’ a movie now you kissing dudes” and “Why is y’all holdin’ hands in the photo, you know I’m insecure, that’s a no-no” referring to Halle and her co-star Jonah Hauer-King—aka Prince Eric—holding hands at the London premiere.
The song didn’t go over well with fans, drawing immediate backlash. What some saw as emotional honesty, others saw as another sign of the possessiveness Halle later described.
Fatherhood in the public eye
By late 2023, Halle and DDG transitioned from boyfriend and girlfriend to mom and dad. Their son Halo Saint was born on December 23, and both Halle and DDG expressed great love and fortune to have him in their lives. The couple stayed together until October 3, 2024, when DDG announced on his Instagram story that, after much reflection, he and Halle decided to go their separate ways, but continue to co-parent their son together.
In the following months, their co-parenting efforts appeared to be going well, with shared photos and videos of them celebrating Halo’s first birthday together in December 2024. But behind the smiles and media front, months of unresolved issues were quickly hitting a breaking point.
The allegations that changed everything
In May 2025, Halle came forward with serious abuse allegations, saying that, “throughout our relationship, Darrly has been and continues to be physically, verbally, emotionally, and financially abusive towards me.” She included a photo of her chipped front tooth, claiming that DDG slammed her face into a steering wheel.
The court granted her a restraining order on May 14, 2025, to protect herself and their son, which allowed temporary custody of Halo. DDG is now required to stay within a 100-yard distance from both his ex and their son until their hearing on June 6, 2025.
With these new claims, fans started to revisit physical abuse allegations from previous partner Rubi Rose that were, at the time, completely dismissed because of her involvement with the adult industry.
Now that a second girlfriend has come forward with these statements, it looks like these allegations are starting to turn into lawsuits. Although more proof is coming out against DDG, his fans continue to support and defend him online. This supports the theory that DARVO—deny, attack, reverse, victim, and offend—may be in use to manipulate the situation, to switch the narrative in DDG’s favor.
The countersuit and the court of opinion
On June 4th, 2025, DDG formally denied the abuse allegations in a court filing. He countered Halle’s claim about chipping her front tooth by saying it happened accidentally when she jumped from the backseat of the car during an argument, not from an attack.
In 1 of the Documents DDG revealed to the court it shows that Halle Bailey STABBED Ddg in the hand 😳😳😳
— Akademiks TV (@AkademiksTV) June 4, 2025
DDG was the Victim all along smh #FreeHalo pic.twitter.com/tiXTgvohUi
DDG has made further claims, saying Halle has made violent attempts against him and included a photo of a cut on his hand that she allegedly caused.
In the same filing, he ordered an emergency motion to block Halle from taking their son to Italy. DDG made his own domestic violence restraining order and described Halle as “an imminent emotional and psychological risk.” In the document, he brought up incidents where Halle has shown suicidal behaviour, including a time she took his firearm and threatened her own life.
DDG files emergency motion to stop Halle Bailey from leaving the country with their son—claims she’s mentally unfit and recalls moment she allegedly walked off with his gun while pregnant. pic.twitter.com/CUpxM77VQt
— CelebRapInsider (@CelebRapInsider) June 4, 2025
With the ongoing court battle, people have expressed their support for DDG with hashtags like #FreeHalo. YouTuber and Streamer SoLLUMANTI has posted his reaction to Halle’s allegations, defending DDG, despite their previous six-year feud. He mentioned he warned him about dating Halle because of her association with Disney, and this is an attempt to ruin everything he’s worked hard for.
What comes next for a career on trial
Grinding for over a decade now, there’s no denying DDG has worked hard to get where he is. From viral YouTube videos to diss tracks and celebrity drama, he’s always overcome the backlash from his controversies—and make songs about it.
But this time is different: Although DDG has not been named the bad guy, the public is eagerly awaiting the truth to come out. With clips, resurfacing tweets, and old flames, the public narrative is shifting and may be connecting the dots before the jury does. With two ex-partners coming forward with these claims, some are seeing a pattern, though the court has yet to deliver a verdict.
