What the hell, Channel Awesome (Sexual misconduct and misogyny scandal)

Alessandra Kelley

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I have long enjoyed the silly “Nostalgia Critic” videos on Channel Awesome, and I still watch Lindsay Ellis’ new videos, even though she left the channel a while ago.

Oh yeah, about that leaving ...

It sounds like Channel Awesome has been a hostile and toxic environment, especially for female creators, for years now. Starting last month stories of abuse at Channel Awesome started trending on Twitter, witnessed by men and women both. About a week and a half ago a compilation on Google Docs called “Not So Awesome” was posted:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/...P820UBa4dA/mobilebasic#heading=h.smmxroimnosh

Channel owner Mike Michaud has posted a classic non-apology and attack singling out female critics.

http://www.gamerevolution.com/news/382069-channel-awesome-responds-controversy-slamming-ex-producers

In a lengthy blog post, Channel Awesome — most notable for being the home of Doug Walker's 'Nostalgia Critic' character, and also being co-run by Rob Walker and Mike Michaud — pitches "accusations" against "facts," attempting to prove the allegations made against them as false. This saw them including chatlogs of conversations with former Channel Awesome affiliates such as Holly Brown and Lindsay Ellis, though the blog post predominantly focusing on the complaints of women wasn't well-received:

Lindsay Ellis

@thelindsayellis
if multiple women accuse your company of an atmosphere of sexism, they're probably lying bitches, so it's a good idea to get their female peers to refute them on a public forum. because one person's experience totally negates multiple others'.

you know. IN GENERAL.
11:32 PM - Apr 11, 2018
 

Lissibith

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After what happened with Benzai, I stopped visiting as much, and after Lupa and Phelous left, I was done. Given what happened in both of those cases and what was said, this isn't exactly surprising. Still, it's sort of sad to see the site in its last throes. It introduced me to some of my favorite internet content creators.
 

Alessandra Kelley

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Salon.com had an article today:

https://www.salon.com/2018/04/22/the-triumph-and-tragedy-of-channel-awesome/

... starting late last year and continuing through the early weeks of April, Channel Awesome's reputation took a massive and very public hit. YouTube made it easier for content creators to make a living without Channel Awesome, while many of its top content creators opened up about how the site's management wasn't creating a welcoming work environment for them.

Those complaints, which were outlined in a 73-page Google Doc that contained negative accounts from more than a dozen former employees, describe a corporate culture that could best be described as toxic and unprofessional. It singled out "management" — namely, Michaud, Walker and his brother Rob — for offenses ranging from poor communication and managerial incompetence to being outright dismissive and bullying toward content creators. And when Channel Awesome's management released a public letter that accused its former contributors of being liars with "vindictive intentions," their main accomplishment was to make #changethechannel start trending on Twitter, thereby exacerbating their PR nightmare.