Linus Tech Tips’ apology video criticized by fans for containing jokes and being monetized.
Linus Tech Tips just announced that all video production is on pause following the Gamers Nexus backlash.
Linus also apologizes for his initial response, but the video does not address allegations from an ex-employee about company culture and sexism.
The incident came to wider public awareness on August 14, when competing hardware channel Gamers Nexus posted a video criticizing the handling of the Monoblock review and questioning LTT’s broader “accuracy, ethics, and responsibility.” That prompted a written response from Sebastian, who acknowledged some “sloppiness” but defended LTT’s record of transparency and accuracy. The problem with the Monoblock review wasn’t the accuracy of his conclusions, he wrote, but that he “read the room wrong” in his response to criticism of LTT’s process.
Today, LTT changed tack with an apology video featuring appearances by multiple members of the company’s leadership team, including CEO Terren Tong (who only took over the role six weeks ago), chief financial officer Yvonne Ho, and various department heads. The video includes widespread acknowledgement that all is not well at the site, and that accuracy has suffered as a result. There’s also a direct criticism of Sebastian’s handling of the Monoblock review.
The situation escalated on August 14th, when Gamers Nexus posted the video in response to Sebastian’s comments on the forum, with a segment titled “Linus Tech Tips response is disappointing nonsense.” Meanwhile, fans expressed frustration and outrage on the Linus Tech Tips forums and subreddit, with some fans demanding a public apology to Billet.
In a video posted this morning titled “What do we do now?” Linus Media Group CFO Yvonne Ho announced the entire channel was pausing production for the next week to address the issues raised by the YouTube channel Gamers Nexus about errors in videos and concerning ethical practices. “I agree with the community,” Ho said in the video, “so I’m putting my foot down. Effective immediately all YouTube video production is on pause.”
The controversy started earlier this week, when Gamers Nexus posted a video outlining a number of factual errors and ethics concerns in recent Linus Tech Tips videos. “We’ve been seeing an alarming amount of conflicts from Linus Tech Tips as it relates to their corporate connections, their flow of money, and the potential bias as a result of those things,” said Gamers Nexus host Steve Burke.
Former Linus Tech Tips employee, Madison “Suop” Reeve, alleges assault, sexism, and inappropriate questioning while working.
“I had to read comments from people talking about how they wanted to f*ck me and my co workers”, she shared regarding managing an April Fools OF account.
