Top 10 Infamous YouTube Apologies

#10: The Fine Brothers

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Top 20 Infamous YouTube Apologies

The Fine Bros are the founders of Fine Brothers Entertainment, which is well known for its “React” series. In turn, they attempted to trademark the term “react.” Unfortunately, reaction videos are performed the world over, and many people were pissed at the brothers for having the gall to trademark such a widely used term. They initially tried (rather unsuccessfully) to quell the anger with a condescending explanation of their business acumen before issuing a full-blown apology and said they were rescinding their trademark attempt. But the damage was already done. They lost tons of subscribers, people around the internet reacted negatively to the video, and sarcastically asked if they could react to things again. And those were the nice things that were said.

Here’s a tip: if you’re going to organize a massive event, you should probably, you know, properly plan for it. Back in 2018, Tana Mongeau organized her own convention called TanaCon. It was a complete disaster, as many thirsty and hungry people were left out in the hot sun due to the venue’s limited capacity. Mongeau then uploaded “The Godfather” of apology videos, as it spanned over an hour in length! Not only was the runtime absolutely ridiculous, but Mongeau kept placing the blame on other people. It was enough to earn the video over 39,000 dislikes, and TanaCon quickly faded into internet infamy.

As negatively received as the Fine Bros and Mongeau apologies were, at least they didn’t cause more controversy and dig their subjects into even deeper holes. That cannot be said for RiceGum. In early 2019, RiceGum was slammed for promoting a scam website called MysteryBrand. When called out on it, he pulled the whole “Well, other people were doing it too!” excuse. It wasn’t a good look for him, but it got even worse. To make amends, RiceGum attempted to buy everyone off with Amazon gift cards… that were expired. Needless to say, people were pissed, and RiceGum’s failed “apology” became YouTube legend.

Keemstar has certainly seen his fair share of controversy throughout the years. One of the biggest and most infamous blunders came in January 2016 when the DramaAlert creator accused 62-year-old Twitch streamer rsgloryandgold of being a pedophile. This is an incredibly serious accusation, especially when it results in death threats. And wouldn’t you know it, the accused man was completely innocent! Keemstar took to YouTube to apologize, and it did not go over well. The video received over 152,000 dislikes compared to just 50,000 likes, and many commenters stated that they were getting sick of Keemstar’s attitude, relentless controversy, and inauthentic apologies. Silly YouTube drama is one thing, but accusing an innocent man of being a pedophile crossed a line.

In 2016, it was revealed that Trevor Martin (AKA TmarTn) was the owner of a gambling website that he was continuously promoting. What followed was perhaps the worst apology video of all time. This video wins “apology video” bingo, playing more like an “SNL” parody than a legitimate effort. It starts with the whole “I’ll talk to my cute dog and hope the audience sympathizes” bit and goes from there. We’ve got the exaggerated “here we go” sigh, a huge mansion and conveniently-framed truck that flaunts his wealth, and an insincere apology that places the blame on the viewers instead of himself. Yeah, why didn’t we know about this, guys!? Gosh!

The YouTube beauty community is a volatile and confrontational one, and many notable beauty vloggers have apologized to the fan bases throughout the years. In the summer of 2019, it was Jaclyn Hill’s turn. Hill received condemnation for her poor quality lipstick, and she took to YouTube to defend her brand. Unfortunately, many fans believed that she was far too aggressive and defensive in her approach. Hill admitted in a later apology on Instagram that she was too confrontational, saying that she needed to “calm down” and “breathe.” We totally get wanting to defend a product. But acting in a stand-offish manner is not the way to go about it.

At this point, Laura Lee’s apology video is a part of YouTube history. When one thinks “YouTube apology video,” one undoubtedly thinks of Laura Lee with her face in her hand. After numerous racist tweets from 2012 were brought to light, Lee “apologized” to her fans through a horribly insincere and embarrassing video in 2018. Not only was the video monetized, but it was filled with fake crying and some of the worst acting we’ve ever seen. Lee later apologized for the insincere apology and removed the original video from her channel. But it was too late for that. The video is history and will forever remain in the museum of the internet.

#3: James Charles

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Top 10 Must-Watch James Charles Videos

Usually the beauty YouTuber drama stays within the beauty community. Not so with James Charles and Tati Westbrook. Their little tiff in the spring of 2019 spilled into the mainstream, and things got even more interesting when Westbrook uploaded a sprawling 45-minute epic aimed at Charles. In response, an atypically frumpled and natural Charles uploaded a brief eight-minute apology. And it did not go well. The video, simply titled “tati,” had over 3.2 million dislikes as of writing, making for about a 81% dislike percentage. It is also the thirteenth most disliked video in YouTube history. We’re going to assume that people did not accept the apology...

#2: Logan Paul

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The Paul brothers are quite controversial, and they aren’t exactly known for their stellar apologies. For example, there’s Jake’s “Dear YouTube, I’m Sorry” video, which currently has over 135,000 dislikes. But nothing beats Logan’s apology. Following the infamous dead body fiasco, Logan uploaded the now-famous “So Sorry” video. And to his credit, he hasn’t taken it down (unlike many of the others on this list). But it is painfully brief. Maybe a little too brief, as some people thought the situation warranted more than a simple “sorry about that.” Others claimed to see through his “I did it to raise awareness” spiel. With more than 2.3 million dislikes, it’s clear that Paul messed up big time. He’s never going to live this down. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable, or in this case dishonorable, mentions. Filip Miucin Manny Mua Brooke Houts Jeffree Star Social Repose

Now, let’s get one thing clear off the bat: this isn’t necessarily a bad apology video. It isn’t ten hours long, PewDiePie doesn’t deflect blame, fake cry or sigh, and he owns his monumental f-up. In fact, this is probably one of the few good apology videos out there. But it’s still infamous. You could even argue that this is the most famous apology video on YouTube, judging solely by the mainstream traction that the 2017 video and the inciting incident received. Heck, this apology video made headlines in outlets like Business Insider and Variety! That’s a pretty big deal, considering most YouTube drama is relegated to… well, YouTube. We even got the Heated Gaming Moment meme out of this ordeal...