Public apology videos are the worst thing we made influencers do

I keep seeing these long apology videos where someone cries for 10 minutes and then keeps their brand deals anyway. Last month a makeup person in Portland got called out for using a slur in an old tweet. The video she posted was clearly coached, she repeated the same phrases over and over, and within 2 weeks she was back to posting sponsored content. My take is we all know this is a performance now, so why do we still treat it like real accountability? Has anyone else noticed the apology video format itself makes things worse, since it rewards people who can cry on cue and punishes the ones who just write a plain text post?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly_roberts2d ago

A friend of mine got cancelled for a bad joke she made years ago, and she just posted a one line text apology. Nobody cared, people kept tagging her old tweets for months, and she eventually had to delete everything. Meanwhile, the folks who do the crying videos get a fresh start, so yeah, the format definitely rewards the actors.

wilson.claire2d ago

Thought I had it backwards until I saw your friend's story. You're right, the crying videos get way more sympathy than a plain text apology ever will.