'I never encourage people to try to look like me': Worryingly thin vlogger defends herself as thousands sign petition to ban her from YouTube amid claims she is promoting anorexia

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A worryingly thin vlogger has defended her videos as people sign a petition demanding she be banned from YouTube because they fear she is promoting anorexia.

Eugenia Cooney, a 22-year-old New York based video blogger with an online following of almost 1 million, told her fans she never tries to 'influence anyone badly and I never encourage people to try to look like me'.

In a Youtube video she released addressing the criticism two weeks ago, she added: 'Some people are saying I'm like a bad influence on girls. I just want you guys to know like I have seriously never have tried to be a bad influence on YouTube or to influence anyone badly. I would never want to do that.

'I have never told anyone to try to like lose weight or to try to like change the way they look or to look like me.' 

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Eugenia Cooney defended her videos as people signed a petition to have her videos removed from YouTube

Eugania Cooney (above in one of her YouTube videos) has been accused of fans of promoting anorexia 

More than 9,000 people have signed the petition on Change.org asking that she be removed from her YouTube to seek help 

YouTube users have expressed grave concerns for the vlogger who has more than 890,000 subscribers

And she told Twitter fans Friday: 'It's one thing for people to be attacking me, but when people start attacking my friends and people who stick up for me I feel horrible.'

She added: 'Guys I am so sorry if you're angry at me even though I'm really not trying to do anything wrong but please do not attack other people.' 

She has received a torrent of abuse and pleas to get help from fans both angry and concerned about her tiny frame. 

More than 18,000 people signed a Change.org petition calling for her to be temporarily banned from YouTube and seek medical help.

'Eugenia Cooney has a serious medical condition and needs to seek help.  She has been influencing her viewers by her serious underweight condition,' it said. 

'She may not be intentionally influencing her viewers but showing 50 per cent of her body in videos and pictures are not helping girls with anorexia or any eating disorder,' said administrator Lynn Cloud. 

Among those to have signed the petition is one person who claimed their cousin starved herself to look more like the vlogger. 

'My little cousin lost 17lbs because she wanted to look like Eugenia. She is now receiving care. She is only 12-years-old.'

The petition appeared to have been removed from Change.org Friday.

Cooney did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's requests for comment on Friday morning.   

Since joining YouTube in 2013 after leaving school, Cooney has amassed a following of 893,481 people and receives financial contributions from fans. 

She is also popular on social media with 432,000 Instagram followers and 115,000 fans on Twitter.

Her videos range in content but most include hair, make-up and wardrobe advice from the soft-spoken internet star. 

Some include her mother who appears happily playing dress up with their dog and giving her daughter make-overs to make her look more 'preppy'. 

Cooney is understood to still be living with her parents at their Greenwich, Connecticut, home which was last sold for $1.2million. 

Among the stream of comments beneath recent posts are many condemning her weight. 

Eugenia Cooney, a 22-year-old New York based video blogger with an online following of almost 1 million, defended herself on Twitter Friday

YouTube would not say whether it would take action against her account. Eugenia is seen above in a recent video trying on Halloween costumes 

In other videos on YouTube, fans remarked how much the 22-year-old's appearance had changed since 2013, when she launched her channel (above) 

Cooney, 22, insists she is 'naturally' thin despite viewers' accusations she has an eating disorder

Cooney has amassed a following on YouTube of more than 890,000 people with her videos. She is also popular on Instagram,Twitter and Facebook 

The 22-year-old enthusiastically describes herself as an 'emo'. Most of her content is focused on hair, make-up and wardrobe 

Eugania apologized to fans she offended, insisting she isn't trying to do 'anything wrong' 

Unhinged fans have told the woman how she will 'die soon' unless she 'starts eating', with some angrily accusing her of promoting eating disorders. 

'Look at those legs. I've seen cripples in wheelchairs with thicker legs than those,' said one user beneath a recent video. 

'You look so ill I can see your bones through your skin,' said another. 

Alarmingly, other viewers told her she was 'fat' in mocking posts.  'Lose some weight fat ass,' said one. 

Cooney's images also appear on 'thinspo' accounts and websites. One collage was shared with the hashtags 'bonespo'. 

A Twitter user responded to it: 'I need to be her size.' 

In a Facebook comment on her public page, one person said: 'How many times do I need to throw up a day to look like you?'  

Cooney from Greenwich, Connecticut, advised anyone who doesn't like her content to tune out

The 22-year-old has received abuse from some angry users while others alarmingly asked how to achieve her look 

Last week Cooney addressed criticism of her weight in a YouTube video where she revealed she had declined an offer to appear on Dr Phil to discuss it. 

'I'm just kind of naturally like that, I guess. There isn't really a reason,' she giggled in an attempt to explain her size. 

Elsewhere she remarked there had been an increase in negative comments and told anyone who didn't like her content to tune out, apologizing to anyone she had offended.

'I just have noticed there is a lot of hate. I just wanted to say since obviously some people are really, really angry.

'I'm really sorry, I seriously never mean to do that. It kind of sucks that so many people on the internet feel like I'm a really bad person.' 

YouTube would not comment on Cooney's channel. It instead highlighted its list of policies and advised that viewers could flag any content they deemed worrying. 

Any videos which contain 'an express intention to glorify or promote eating disorders' are removed. 

The petition seeks to gain 25,000 signatures.