The Ace Family is a vlog-style YouTube account with over 18 million subscribers. Launched in 2016, the channel revolves around the lives and antics of parents Austin and Catherine McBroom and their three young children. Individually, Austin and Catherine McBroom are successful social media influencers, with 6.5 and 7.3 million Instagram followers, respectively.
While the couple has seen huge success with their YouTube platform, they have been mired in legal and financial troubles, which has affected their reputation as influencers.
Most notably, they lost ownership of their $10.1 mansion in Los Angeles in October 2021, months after the family received a notice of default, as Insider previously reported.
Here is a timeline of all the controversies the couple have been involved in since their rise to fame as a family vlogging channel.
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A cosmetics company sued Catherine, accusing her of staging a 'coup'
The family's legal trouble dates back to at least April when the cosmetics start-up TBL Cosmetics filed a lawsuit against Catherine who, according to TBL Cosmetics, had signed a contract with the company to jointly found 1212 Gateway, a "premium skin care line" with ethically sourced ingredients, Insider reported.
According to TBLs complaint, Catherine was supposed to be the face of the company and promote it on social media while TBL would perform managerial operations and other behind-the-scenes work, but TBL alleged the YouTuber "conspired with her family, friends, and other under-utilized members or idle of her entourage to stage a takeover of 1212 Gateway's management," or effectively enact a "coup" against TBL.
TBL accused Catherine in a court filing of threatening to unilaterally dissolve 1212 Gateway in April after she allegedly changed the passwords to all of 1212 Gateway's accounts (email, website, social media, Shopify) in March.
Catherine denied all the allegations in a court filing she submitted in July, Insider reported.
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According to court records, the case is scheduled for a hearing on August 18.
Austin's company was sued after the 'Social Gloves' boxing event
Catherine's husband, Austin, has also faced litigation. He and one of his companies, Simply Greatest Productions (SGP), were sued by the media company LiveXLive after they said their celebrity boxing event went awry.
Held on June 12, "Social Gloves: Battle of the Platforms" pitted TikTokers like Bryce Hall and Vinnie Hacker against YouTubers such as Tanner Fox and Austin himself. Investors expected the boxing extravaganza to reel in $200 to $500 million in profit, Insider reported. But Jeffrey Katz, a senior partner at Watkins & Letofsky, LLP, the lead attorney representing LiveXLive, told Insider that the losses on the event ended up being substantial.
An ongoing legal battle has ensued between SGP and LiveXLive, whom Austin hired to help produce the event. SGP sued LiveXLive on July 21, alleging breach of contract and fraud and accusing the company of spending money that would not be returned and selling endorsements without informing SGP, Insider reported.
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That same day, LiveXLive filed a return suit against the McBrooms for $100 million in damages.
Katz previously told Insider that the McBrooms and SGP "sold people a bag of lies" with the boxing event.
The McBrooms' umbrella company is also dealing with legal issues
Ace Hat Collection Inc., an umbrella company for the family run by Austin, has petitioned two separate construction businesses in the Los Angeles County Supreme Court to try to release mechanic's liens, Insider reported, citing Los Angeles court documents.
Mechanic's liens are legal documents often filed by contract construction workers who have not received payment for projects they completed. A judge denied one of Ace Hat Collection's petitions while the other is still awaiting a decision, Insider reported.
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An attorney for Ace Hat Collection previously confirmed to Insider that he filed a notice of appeal on October 5 for a petition against a heavy-machinery business that currently has a mechanic's lien against the McBrooms' company.
The McBrooms lost ownership of their mansion
The current saga with their house, dates back to May 2021, when a debt-collection company served them a notice of default which stipulated that they had 90 days to pay back $8.7 million to a lender to whom the family owed money, Insider reported.
At that point, their house went into the legal state of "pre-foreclosure," which often comes when a homeowner hasn't made a certain amount of payments, according to the financial website Investopedia. Pre-foreclosure is the first stage in a process that can end with the house being taken away from the entity that's failing to make the payments.
An online sales listing shows that the house was put on auction at a starting bid of just over $9 million on Tuesday, as Insider previously reported. After no one purchased the property at the sale, ownership was transferred to the beneficiary, 5 Arch Funding Corporation, property records show, Insider reported.
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Although the house is currently now owned by that company, due to California's nonjudicial foreclosure law, 5 Arch Funding Corporation has to file and win an eviction lawsuit against the McBrooms if they want to force them to leave the property, Insider reported. The McBrooms can evade eviction by voluntarily leaving or resolving their debt to the company, Insider reported.
When Insider previously reached a lawyer for Ace Hat Collection by phone, they declined to comment on the status of the house or the foreclosure auction.
Rumors about the foreclosure had swirled online previously
Rumors about the McBrooms facing eviction and other financial trouble began to spread earlier this year after property records related to the foreclosure surfaced on the gossip forum Lipstick Alley, Insider reported.
Austin and Catherine have denied rumors circulating that they could be evicted from their house.
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"Ain't nobody getting evicted, ain't nobody moving," Austin wrote on Instagram in July.
Catherine wrote on Snapchat later that month that the foreclosure rumors "made me appreciate how blessed I am."
The two have not commented on the situation since their house was auctioned on Tuesday.
They have continued to post YouTube videos on The ACE Family channel showing them playing with their pet dog, celebrating their three-year-old daughter's birthday, and driving upscale cars throughout the last few months of legal and financial tumult.
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Representatives for the McBrooms have not responded to a request for comment.
Austin was sued by the city of Beverly Hills for hosting an unsanctioned parade
On May 29, 2021, Austin and Catherine led a parade of fans down Rodeo Drive. Austin McBroom and social media marketing executive Sheerez Hasan both posted a flyer on their social media accounts advertising the event, while the McBrooms were photographed leading the parade. The parade was also heavily documented on social media as what appeared to be hundreds of people showed up.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the event caused Rodeo Drive to shut down between 4:50 pm and 6:19 pm.
In October 2021, the city of Beverly Hills sued Austin McBroom and Hasan, seeking $200,000 in monetary damages, alleging that the pair organized, promoted, and attended an unsanctioned event called the "YouTuber Takeover Parade."
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The city also alleged that McBroom and Hasan failed to apply for a permit to host the parade within city limits.
The McBrooms have not shared an update on the case, and attorneys of record in the case did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The McBrooms moved into a new luxury mansion following the foreclosure of their previous home
On December 10, 2021, Austin and Catherine revealed they were living in a new luxury home in a YouTube video titled, "OUR NEW HOUSE TOUR. *EXCLUSIVE*."
In the video, which has 4.4 million views, the McBrooms tour the new house, which had a home cinema with a popcorn machine, a pool, and a home gym. There was also a blue-lit waterfall display with real running water in the McBrooms' dining room.
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According to the pair, the tour only showed approximately half the house because some areas were unfinished, and they wanted to keep some aspects of the house hidden from viewers.
"We are trying to keep this house as private as it can be," Austin said in the video.
The McBrooms announced plans to host a festival for fans — and that they would quit YouTube at the end of 2022
On March 19, the McBrooms posted a YouTube video titled "THE END OF THE ACE FAMILY ON YOUTUBE," in which they revealed plans to quit YouTube at the end of 2022 to travel and spend time with family.
They also announced they'd be hosting an event called "The Ace Family Fest," where fans would be able to meet them and enjoy free rides and games.
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The event website described the festival as "Disneyland meets Coachella," and said that two VIP ticket holders would be given an invite to Austin and Catherine's wedding, which was set to take place at the end of 2022.
Ticket packages for the event were announced at $299 for three people and $499 for a VIP package for five people, which included the opportunity to meet Austin and Catherine at a meet-and-greet, according to the event's website. Initially, individual tickets weren't sold for the event, but one YouTuber who live streamed the event said he bought a single ticket at the door for $121.
For context, the price of a one-day pass to Disneyland starts at $104.
"Please don't miss out, this may be the last ace family event!" the festival website said.
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Representatives for Austin and Catherine McBroom did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment about the festival.
Concerns about 'The Ace Family Fest' began to swirl online
In the months leading up to the festival, various YouTube drama channels – who typically post updates and speculation about internet gossip – expressed concerns about the McBrooms' plans for their event.
Several worried that the Ace Family would not have enough time to plan and pull off the festival — which was originally slated to take place in August.
The fest was then moved up to July with no explanation.
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In a YouTube video posted on July 8, Austin and Cathering filmed themselves standing in front of a ferris wheel, announcing the festival would take place the following day. Austin addressed previous criticism of the event, saying, "For the people that said our festival was a scam or that it wasn't happening, you guys can suck a fat donut, OK, because it's happening."
Drama YouTubers who attended the festival said it was 'disappointing'
The "Ace Family Fest" took place on July 9 in Lancaster, California, and according to the McBrooms, who filmed themselves meeting fans at a meet and greet event, thousands of people were in attendance.
On Twitter, discussion around the event was overwhelmingly negative, as several high-profile drama YouTubers, such as Defnoodles and Swell Entertainment, attended the event and posted pictures of what it was like from their perspective. Their reviews left many people on social media saying the festival looked "disappointing."
Other social media users and drama YouTubers documented "crazy" expensive food items, and long outdoor queues in the "blistering" heat before the McBrooms moved their meet and greet inside.
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However, one drama YouTuber, Spill Sesh noted that she was impressed by how much time the McBrooms spent with their fans.
"I think that they were great in their meet and greet," Spill Sesh said in her review of the festival. "The line looked like it sucked in the heat and everything, but the way they were treating their fans was really sweet and really nice, and those interactions are going to keep fans wanting to meet them again and come to another event."
The McBrooms said they have come to expect criticism around their events
On July 10, Austin posted a thank you message to festival attendees on his Instagram stories, which were seen by Insider, where he referred to the event as a "success."
However, on July 12, the couple posted a recap of the festival on YouTube, and Catherine addressed negative responses to the event on social media.
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"After every single event there's always a downside to it. Obviously, there's more eyes on us, so there's negativity that comes with it, and we're used to it," she said.
The couple also said they are considering hosting a similar event again in the future.
The McBrooms appeared to anticipate negative reviews of the festival in the weeks leading up to it. In a YouTube video posted on June 10, Austin and Catherine warned viewers that drama channels would likely post negative reviews of the event, as they had done after previous Ace Family events.
"Don't click these drama channels, don't click these news outlets, because they're just trying to get you to click," Austin said. "Just don't buy into it."
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Kat Tenbarge contributed reporting.
For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.
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