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Andrew Callaghan, an independent filmmaker and host of YouTube channels All Gas No Breaks and Channel5, has posted a video apology addressing allegations of sexual misconduct that were made against him in early January.<\/p>\n
The 25-year-old posted the nearly five minute apology video to YouTube on Sunday, 15 January in which he responded to the allegations against him. Callaghan began the video by thanking \u201cevery single person\u201d who has spoken out in the past week about his behaviour, and shared that he plans to seek professional treatment and Alcoholics Anonymous.<\/p>\n
However, the documentary filmmaker maintained that he\u2019s \u201calways taken \u2018no\u2019 for an answer\u201d and that several stories about him online are \u201cnot true\u201d and are \u201cmissing important contextual information.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought I\u2019d make a video like this, but I think there\u2019s an important conversation to be had and I just want to be fully accountable, honest and transparent with all of you guys,\u201d Callaghan began the video. \u201cSo I\u2019d like to start by thanking every single person who came out in the past week to speak about different ways in which my behaviour has made them feel uncomfortable or pressured during a sexual situation, and to people who said that I\u2019ve made unwanted advances and had a hard time with rejection.\u201d<\/p>\n
The This Place Rules filmmaker also apologised for his \u201csilence\u201d since the sexual misconduct allegations first surfaced online, explaining he was in a \u201cstate of denial and shock\u201d.<\/p>\n
Callaghan added that he wanted \u201cto make a few things clear\u201d about the allegations brought against him, saying: \u201cI\u2019ve always taken \u2018no\u2019 for an answer as far as consent. I\u2019ve never overstepped that line. But I think I want to have a more nuanced and important conversation about power dynamics, pressure and coercion. Because, like I said, I think, for a long time, I was behaving in a way that I actually thought was normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The All Gas No Brakes host admitted that he thought \u201cpersistence was a form of flattery\u201d and that if someone was \u201creluctant\u201d towards his sexual advances, it meant \u201cthey\u2019re playing hard to get.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that, especially, I realised when so many young people \u2013 especially young men \u2013 rush to defend me when this stuff first started coming out, that this type of sex-pest behavior is normalised, and a lot of people think this stuff is normal when I don\u2019t think that it is,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I think that I want to be fully responsible for not having a fluid understanding of consent and what enthusiastic, two-way consent looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew Callaghan posts apology video after multiple women accuse him of sexual misconduct<\/p>\n
However, Callaghan maintained that \u201ca lot of the things that have been said online about me are not true\u201d and \u201care missing really important contextual information that I think would change people\u2019s interpretation of a lot of these situations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m not here to invalidate anybody\u2019s lived experience,\u201d he continued. \u201cIf you feel pressured, you know, that\u2019s just what it is. I hope that young people, and young men in particular, can use my mistakes to learn and move through life with a better understanding of consent.\u201d<\/p>\n
The journalist went on to explain that he will start therapy sessions \u201cpretty much immediately\u201d and cited his relationship with alcohol as a \u201ccontributing factor to my poor decision-making\u201d. Callaghan said he plans on joining the 12-step programme for Alcoholics Anonymous, and wants \u201cto take a serious step back from public life\u201d to \u201cfigure myself out\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that this reaches the ears of anyone who\u2019s felt affected by me. I\u2019d love to reach out to you, or you can reach out to me \u2013 even just for me to say I\u2019m sorry. I really apologise and I appreciate you all,\u201d he said, before extending his apology to his friends, family, and collaborators who have worked with him in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat being said, if you never want to watch Channel5 again, I understand,\u201d he concluded. \u201cI hope you remember the missions of radical empathy and media literacy that we have tried to put into the world through our coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Who is Andrew Callaghan?<\/p>\n
Andrew Callaghan is an independent journalist who rose to prominence with his YouTube series All Gas No Breaks, in which he interviewed people such as Bigfoot hunters and right-wing protesters. He later started a spinoff YouTube series, called Channel5.<\/p>\n
On 30 December, 2022, his documentary film titled This Place Rules was released on HBO Max. His debut documentary film featured Callaghan interviewing people involved in the events leading up to the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol.<\/p>\n
What are the allegations?<\/p>\n
Sexual misconduct allegations against Callaghan began to surface just weeks after the release of his debut documentary film.<\/p>\n
In early January, a woman named Caroline Elise posted a since-deleted TikTok video in which she described her alleged experience with Callaghan that took place in March 2021. Elise, who goes by @cornbreadasserole on TikTok, said in her video that she allowed Callaghan to stay in her home for the night after he had a falling out with one of his crew members, but made it \u201cvery clear about the fact that we were not hooking up,\u201d per Rolling Stone.<\/p>\n
Despite telling Callaghan she was not interested in sleeping with him, he \u201ceventually got my consent because he wore me down,\u201d she said in the video. \u201cI said whatever because I was trying to get the whole thing over with\u2026it doesn\u2019t discount that I told him no. [He] still found a way to coerce me into doing things I didn\u2019t want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elise said she decided to come forward after seeing Callaghan rise in popularity because \u201cit\u2019s even more hard to have to relive the trauma that I endured every single day by seeing this man as a social justice warrior, as someone who cares about human rights, get a platform,\u201d she said. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be supporting him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another TikToker named Dana \u2013 who goes @moldyfreckle on the app \u2013 posted several videos just days later, claiming Callaghan pressured her into having sex with him in 2019. She said Caroline Elise\u2019s video had motivated her to come forward, and added that she wanted \u201cother women who he has affected to feel comfortable talking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In her video, Dana alleged that she was driving Callaghan home when he started touching her inner thigh, kissed her neck, and attempted to put his hand down her pants without consent. \u201cI told him to stop. I told him to get off of me multiple times,\u201d she said in the clip. \u201cHe tried to put my hand down his pants and I was fighting against him during this, telling him to please stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since then, other women have stepped forward describing their alleged experiences with Callaghan, including one report from the publication The Stranger, based in Seattle, where Callaghan is from.<\/p>\n
Andrew Callaghan\u2019s legal representative responds to the sexual misconduct allegations<\/p>\n
On Thursday, 12 January, Callaghan\u2019s legal representative issued a statement on his behalf. In the statement, the spokesperson said, \u201cAndrew is devastated that he is being accused of any type of physical or mental coercion against anyone. Conversations about pressure and consent are extremely important and Andrew wants to have these conversations, so he can continue to learn and grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew vows to be better in this regard, while reminding his audience that while even one concerned partner is too many, there are always multiple sides to a story,\u201d the representative said, according to NBC News. \u201cAndrew is fully committed to working with the appropriate professionals to better understand himself and ways he can grow and improve as a human being, especially with his growing platform and the vulnerabilities it brings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Who has spoken out against Andrew Callaghan?<\/p>\n
Since the sexual misconduct allegations surfaced, comedian Tim Heidecker \u2013 who co-produced Callaghan\u2019s documentary This Place Rules \u2013 announced he has severed all ties with the journalist.<\/p>\n
During an episode of his Office Hours podcast last week, Heidecker said he has \u201cno plans\u201d to work with Callaghan again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a very painful week for us, a very difficult experience to process,\u201d Heidecker said. \u201cOf course, we\u2019re aware of the allegations. We take them very seriously. It\u2019s been very sad and disappointing, to say the least.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to clarify a couple things. We have no professional relationship with Andrew at this time and have no plans going forward to have any relationship with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did produce the movie, and I feel terrible that this film now has these allegations tied to it because some very good people worked very hard on it, \u201d he added. \u201cBut it\u2019s just a movie, and I want to say we believe these women that came forward and, of course, totally condemn the type of behavior that Andrew\u2019s being accused of. I believe it\u2019s up to Andrew to address these allegations and do so openly and honestly. I really hope he does do that as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletterStay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Andrew Callaghan, an independent filmmaker and host of YouTube channels All Gas No Breaks and Channel5, has posted a video apology addressing allegations of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1609,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n