Apology videos. Mess up online and you’re obligated to make one. These videos are very formulaic on YouTube to the point where Smosh turned it into a song, making fun of the format.
If you never saw what these videos were, it’s a YouTuber who apologizes on camera after they were caught doing something problematic. Usually, this is a PR move to clean their brand as in if they don’t say something, brands will drop them and will lose fans, which will impact their income and influence.
While there have been genuine apology videos made over the years, some are clearly insincere. Even if they’re not fake, the person in question should have 100 percent known better, considering they are all adults with massive influence that requires a certain level of responsibility.
So many YouTubers, even the big ones, have come to apologize on camera, some more than once. At the end of the day, though, it’s up to the fans to decide if they deserve a second chance or not. With that in mind, here are 13 of the worst YouTube apology videos ever uploaded to the platform.
13. James Charles
I mean, how sorry can you be if you’re putting on a full face of makeup while apologizing? A once-iconic beauty influencer, James Charles found himself in hot water after allegations from two teenage boys surfaced. They alleged that Charles, an adult, was texting and Snapchatting with them, minors.
Charles did partially accept wrongdoing, saying that the boys lied to him about their age which led him to be under the impression that they were over 18 but that he should have researched them more thoroughly.
12. Sienna Mae Gomez
Sienna Mae Gomez was once a very popular lifestyle influencer who built her platform on the important message of self-love. Many of her videos included a fellow creator, Jack Wright, and there was speculation that the two were a couple. In 2022, Wright accused Gomez of sexually assaulting him when he was drunk at a party.
Gomez decided that the best way to address these extremely serious allegations was through, wait for it, an interpretative dance. The internet absolutely exploded after the release of this video, with it being parodied many times on TikTok.
11. Colleen Ballinger
Like Sienna Mae, Colleen Ballinger decided to defend herself against some of the most serious allegations through music. Ballinger utilized a song called “Toxic Gossip Train” to address the intense rumors and allegations that included distributing porn to minors, blackface, grooming, and exploiting her children.
She broke out her ukulele and accused the public of taking gossip and running with it, without having any care for who the rumors might hurt. While her sentiment makes sense, what doesn’t is that she chose to sing a ten-minute-long tune instead of actually talking about what had happened.
10. Pewdiepie
Pewdiepie’s apology video due to the Fiverr incident was professional on one hand, but at the same time, he kind of blames everyone for portraying him as a terrible person. While that is debatable, some of this YouTuber’s recent videos tend to make the same mistakes, except he’s making fun of people’s disabilities.
The guy should have someone known before pressing upload that his video was going to cause problems, context or without. At least he somewhat learned from his mistakes, right? Right?
9. Tana Mongeau
One of Mongeau’s biggest mistakes was the creation of Tanacon. Not only were people hurt and sunburnt, but it was so disorganized to the point where people wanted answers. She had to appear on Dawson’s channel just so she could explain herself. That’s not to mention that she somewhat bragged on social media when she heard that so many people attended, but she didn’t dare to ask, “Are they okay?”
She did apologize multiple times for the massive error in judgment that was creating this convention during the same week as Vidcon. At least she tried to take accountability for it as there was no announcement of Tanacon 2.0. ever. Everything that happened that hot summer weekend left people with multiple questions.
8. Game Theory
Ah, Matpat, when will you learn that with great power comes great responsibility? As a man who enjoys looking at his own YouTube data and has collected tons of information about his audience, he should have known that he has an impressionable audience.
Asking your viewers to help find this “canceled ARG game” was probably the wrong move. At least he addressed it but the damage has been done. He should have known better.
7. Will Smith
Yes, Will Smith is a YouTuber. He has collaborated with other YouTubers such as Lily Singh and was the front man for YouTube Rewind 2018. Also, the guy vlogs and produce original content on his channel so he immediately counts.
Smith addressed the slap that occurred at the Oscars and said he’s ready to talk with Chris Rock. While the apology could have been genuine, the production of this video made it seem like it was a PR stunt to make sure his image isn’t fully tarnished.
6. Jeffree Star
Jeffree Star has apologized way too many times to the point that it’s hard to catch up. After all, the guy tends to surround himself with drama. The video shared here is where he addressed that he no longer wants to expose James Charles due to what people called “dramageddon.”
He said that he no longer wants to be the same “toxic” person he was in the past, but this is the second apology in which he has said this. Not to mention he did an apology again in 2020 when he said that he wanted to be a better person. What’s the point of apologizing if you’re just going to be making the same mistakes?
5. The Fine Brothers
Let’s start by saying that you can’t trademark the word “react” or the act of “reacting to something.” Usually, something like this should have been common sense but I guess The Fine Bros did know this, which is really embarrassing.
The Fine Bros tried to cement themselves as the biggest reaction channel on the platform but when they tried to monopolize the genre, it completely backfired. Not only has their channel been in decline, but former kids and teenagers who were on the show have spoken out on what truly goes on behind the scenes.
4. Jake Paul
This apology video is mediocre at most. First of all, the apology is at the end of the video. Before, it is just him vlogging and doing the usual stuff. After that, he starts to sound genuine and says that he wants to be better. He first apologized to his brother because of a diss track. Then he addressed the “It’s Everyday Bro” video and how he isn’t a “good rapper.” While he did say that he was doing it for fun, he apologized if anyone got hurt.
This apology could have been genuine if he actually meant it, but the guy made so many mistakes to the point where he needed Shane Dawson to help clear his image.
3. Logan Paul
Just like Pewdiepie, Logan knew what he was doing. He should have known that posting a video of him and his friends in that specific forest in Japan was a bad idea; there were even signs. Also, it took him two apologies to get things somewhat right, and this was his second.
The first one was on Twitter where he released a short statement where he pretty much boasts how much content he has produced on a daily basis. Surely, with his years of experience and the PR team behind him, it shouldn’t have happened in the first place and when it did, it should have been apologized for properly the first time.
It also seems like Paul has not learned from his mistakes. He has gotten into a number of scandals since, including claiming that he was going to “go gay for just one month” and creating an energy drink that can pose a serious health concern for the kids that it seems to target.
2. Laura Lee
Two words—fake tears. Lee was apologizing because people found her past, racist tweets on Twitter. She tried to act as if she was truly sorry, but viewers immediately called it fake, even the crying and the tears.
Due to the negative reception, not only did she lose 500k subscribers, but she also took down the video and replaced it with an official statement. This was supposed to be the worst apology video on YouTube, but sadly, one YouTuber was able to outdo Lee’s “fakeness.”
1. Shane Dawson
Where do we start with this apology video? First of all, this video was uploaded just days after Jenna Marbles uploaded hers when she addressed her past skits and how some of them may be offensive. When Dawson uploaded his, literally one of his first statements was that he was “inspired” by Marble’s video and wanted to do the same.
Take that with a grain of salt, but a lot of people interpret this as “oh, he’s copying Jenna.” Not many people believe that Dawson was being genuine in his apology, and viewers said he was doing this because he was being called out and wanted to protect his image.
People make mistakes, that’s already a given, but they should know that their actions have consequences, especially if you’re a hugely popular and influential person. Remember, not every apology video is made equally. They’re mostly made because they got caught, and it’s a PR stunt to make themselves look better. It’s up to you to decide if the person truly means it.
