The Worst YouTube Apology Videos!

Nobody knows how to cry on cue and apologize like a YouTuber!

Every so often, members of the creative platform will put a foot in their mouth and say, or do, something which completely enrages their fanbase — resulting in the now-iconic “apology video.”

You know, where an influencer bares their soul, begs for forgiveness, and a second chance from ~~paid sponsors~~ the general public? Yeah, those videos!

Everyone from beauty vlogger James Charles to makeup artist Laura Lee has served up those crocodile tears at one point or another.

As the old saying goes: it’s not always about what you say, it’s how you say it. And by our assessment, these cringeworthy expressions of regret certainly missed the mark!

Let’s ch-ch-check out a shortlist of some of the worst YouTube apology videos ever made:

Contents [hide]

1 Logan Paul
2 Laura Lee
3 PEWDIEPIE
4 The Fine Brothers
5 Manny MUA
6 Jaclyn Hill
7 Brooke Houts
8 Jeffree Star
9 James Charles
10 Tana Mongeau

Logan Paul

Logan Paul found himself at the center of massive controversy after he uploaded a vlog which featured a dead body he discovered in Aokigahara, Japan — also known as the Japanese Suicide Forest. In the original vid, the 23-year-old tried to spin the scenario into an honest conversation about depression and mental illness. But after the immediate backlash, the former Vine star hopped on Twitter to apologize.

Unsurprisingly, the public didn’t buy it and called for Logan to be #canceled. In response, Paul delivered the apology video (above) directed to anyone who watched his irresponsible tape, including the male suicide victim’s family. It’s hard to say if it did any good, though, as the influencer’s following and brand have never been the same since. In fact, he found another way to offend people with lewd remarks earlier this year. We didn’t get any repentance for that one though. SMH.

Laura Lee

Laura Lee made two very different, but equally bad attempts, at apologizing for retweeting racist trash, originally sent back in 2012. In her first apology (above), Laura barely looks at the camera as she delivers remarks which make her sound like she’s the victim — not the people she’s offended. The most cringeworthy part of it all is how Lee continues to wipe her face, although there are no tears falling from her eyes! WTF!? The nearly five-minute clip spawned several memes making fun of her fake crying. The 31-year-old removed the video from her channel but, alas; everything lives on forever on the internet!

So, about that second apology…

Once again, Lee spoke to her online audience and tried to offer a more sincere message about her insensitive behavior. The heart-to-heart was as poorly received as the first. Compare ’em for yourself and watch (below):

As we said, this didn’t do her any favors. The beauty influencer’s makeup line, Laura Lee Cosmetics, also failed miserably when it launched in the wake of the incident!

PEWDIEPIE

PewDiePie, the Swedish vlogger whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, issued his apology (above) after using a racial slur during a video game live stream on his channel in 2017.

“What a f***ing n****r… sorry, but what the f**k,” is what the gamer said about an opponent he was fighting in PlayerUnknown‘s Battlegrounds game.

We shouldn’t even have to tell you how people responded to that kind of remark…

Days later, Pewdiepie told fans the slip-up was said “in the heat of the moment” and admitted there was no real excuse for it ’cause he should know better. Yeah, no kidding! The fact that Kjellberg was also called out for making anti-Semitic remarks and paying two Indian performers to dance while holding a “Death To Jews” sign within the same year didn’t help his case either. (He apologized for that, too, but it’s since been deleted!)

Following reports of his terrible online behavior, several companies cut ties with the star including YouTube; the platform canceled season two of Scare PewDiePie on YouTube Red and pulled his channel from its premium advertising program. At one point, the Minecraft expert promised to delete his account, but it appears he never went through with it.

The Fine Brothers

Reaction videos are among the most popular types of content to exist on YouTube. So, naturally, the online community was outraged when the Fine Brothers dared to trademark their “React” series brand!

The duo alleged they were the first to create a different, unique approach to the concept of reaction vids on their channel, Fine Brothers Entertainment. According to the filing, the trademark would cover an “on-going series of programs and webisodes via the Internet in the field of observing and interviewing various groups of people.”

In their initial apology (above) Rafi and Benny Fine explained users could obtain a license from them to make their own version of the vids; conveniently leaving out the fine print which stated the brothers could potentially seek legal action against those who infringed upon the rules. Not to mention, they’d stand to make a considerable amount of money from charging other channels that produce similar videos.

In the process of it all, the bros lost tons of their subscribers across all channels, finally forcing them to scrap their branding and licensing plans.

Manny MUA

To fully understand Manny MUA‘s apology, we have to take a step back and add just a bit of context.

All hell broke lose in the beauty world after MUA Gabriel Zamora tweeted out this photo of himself with Manny (real name Manuel Guttierez), Laura Lee, and Nikita Dragon all putting up their middle fingers:

Shady AF, right? We’ll dare to say it, but Kylie Jenner‘s original version can’t compete even with this one!

The flick was interpreted by many as a direct jab at Jeffree Star, who was noticeably missing from the shot. But after Zamora’s initial tweet started to pick up a lot of traction, he decided to call Jeffree and apologize. As it turns out, the real underlying beef was between Star and Guttierez, and apparently Gabriel wanted no parts of it! The 26-year-old officially took Jeffree’s side and denounced his friendship with Manny MUA.

The whole fiasco served as a “reality check” for Manny and you can hear his take on it (below):

The 28-year-old insists he did not intend to come off as a mean girl in the infamous pic, but the fact that he liked Zamora’s tweet didn’t exactly help his case here either. After addressing the matter, Manny went on to discuss his tumultuous friendship with Jeffree and his overall place in the YT community for the rest of the video — which felt more like a defensive monologue than a real apology!

Jaclyn Hill

Back in June, Jaclyn Hill begrudgingly apologized to consumers who purchased So Rich Lipsticks from her new beauty brand, Jaclyn Cosmetics. There was an overwhelming amount of negative feedback to launch; some who bought the product complained of poor quality, damaged orders, and broken lipsticks, while others reported on social media about seeing fuzzy hairs and possibly mold on theirs.

In the 14-minute clip (above), the 28-year-old appears visibly defensive about the manufacturing fiasco. Hill insists her makeup products are safe and even shared laboratory analysis reports and a hygiene policy statement from her company to prove it. But after her non-apology didn’t go over well with fans, the internet star announced she was issuing refunds for the lipsticks.

Jaclyn returned to social media one month after deactivating all of her online profiles. In a video titled Where I’ve Been, she discusses being at fault for not having a closer eye on the quality control of her line and not being more involved in the creation of her faulty lipsticks. However, she ultimately does not address “where she’s been” or what actually went wrong in the lab. Seriously. We still need answers, gurl!!

Hear her try to explain it all (below):

Brooke Houts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qfHTGbqMNU

Vlogger Brooke Houts came under fire after accidentally sharing unedited footage showing her punching and appearing to spit on her dog, Sphinx — which is ironic, given the fact that most of her channel is dedicated to her relationship with the Doberman.

Naturally, Houts’ subscribers were outraged to see what seemingly goes on behind the scenes between her and her pet and it wasn’t long before the since-deleted clip went viral.

Brooke initially responded to the backlash with a long apologetic statement on Twitter, saying she was sorry she acted “aggressively” toward her pet and insisted she’s “NOT a dog abuser or animal abuser in any way, shape or form.” Houts claimed the moment caught on camera happened on filming day where she was under more stress than usual, but insisted those conditions did not justify getting overly physical with her pup.

But TBH, no amount of explaining can erase the image of her getting violent with Sphinx from our memory…

The case eventually made its way to authorities at the Los Angeles Police Department who later determined Houts was clear of any neglect or animal abuse charges. Hear her address the controversy in the vid (above).

Jeffree Star

Makeup guru Jeffree Star addressed his subscribers back in June 2017 after a series of videos from over a decade ago resurfaced, which featured the now 33-year-old making racist remarks. In his apology, Star takes responsibility for his “really disgusting, vile, nasty, and embarrassing” past comments rather than fiercely defend himself as he often has done before. The internet celebrity matter-of-factly condemned his previous statements and reiterated he is not a racist in the 15-minute long clip (above).

Additionally, the YT star reflected on the controversy in an interview with Allure. He said:

“I said those horrible things to everyone to get a reaction. I hate the ‘r-word.’ I think it’s so far from who I am but I’ve said things that are racist to women of color and other people so I get it. You see one moment and it’s literally when I’m 19-years-old. I’m 31 now and I look back at this and I think it’s so sad that I spoke like that. I’m just tired of being accused of something I’m not.”

But, considering the entrepreneur’s history of verbal spats and toxic behavior in the online beauty community (including calling fellow beauty personality MakeUp Shayla a “rat”), many were not surprised to hear about the skeletons in Jeffree’s closet. In fact, several of his followers reacted negatively to the apology noting how the speech focuses more on himself and very little on the actual effects of racism. All we can say is, do better!

The Jeffree Star Cosmetics owner makes our list again, this time for his apology directed to James Charles and Tati Westbrook for getting involved in their bitter feud over the summer.

As you’ll recall, the Halo Beauty founder called out her former mentee in a long video outlining and detailing the places where she felt he’d fallen short as a friend and colleague. Their feud reached a fever pitch when James promoted Sleep Vitamins by SugarBearHair at Coachella — a direct competitor of Westbrook’s vitamin brand.

After the 37-year-old spilt her tea, Star spoke out confirming Tati’s claims and threatened to release career-ending receipts on Charles. However, the move created a bit of a ripple effect because, by that point, other members of their inner circle and those beyond YT began to call each other out, post screen grabs of DMs and text messages, and accuse each other of various things in a way that was very quickly spiraling out of control.

In Never Doing This Again, Jeffree apologizes to Charles’ brother for a mean tweet, and also fully apologizes to all of his own viewers because of the things he’s done in the past — both related to the James-Tati fiasco and otherwise. Watch (below):

We’re calling this one out because as much as he seemingly tried to take the high road, it felt more like the star’s publicist probably gave him a nudge to chill out with the drama.

Let’s be real: if you start something, you better finish it! Star previously alluded to some serious accusations about Charles and it’s hard to imagine anyone (except for James, maybe!) would be okay with him simply sweeping them under the rug or his supposed promise to never do this again.

But, we’ll let you decide how you feel about it all!

James Charles

With a reported 2.8 million dislikes on YouTube before it was eventually taken down, James Charles‘ apology to Tati Westbrook makes our list as one of the worst apologies of all time!!

The 20-year-old uploaded his emotional plea after Westbrook called him out for betraying her in a number of ways. We all know how upset Tati was after Charles worked with her business competitor, SugarBearHair. But in her explosive tell-all and since-deleted video titled BYE SISTER, the beauty guru outlined a long list of reasons why she no longer wanted to associate with James. Westbrook alleged he’s emotionless and only cares about staying relevant. She also brought up how he would often joke about wanting to hook up with straight men (which he has mentioned in previous videos), and condemned the star’s problematic perspective on consent.

In his three-minute sob session (above), the star tearfully expresses regret for hurting his “sister.” In addition to accepting blame for their falling out, he also pledges to be a better person and focus on living in his truth.

Listen: James Charles Got Me In Trouble! This Really Sucks!! | Perez Hilton

However, it became clear we didn’t get Charles’ full side of the story in his initial upload since he posted this 41-minute extended explanation just a few days later. Listen to James walk back his admission of guilt and share receipts of his own in No More Lies (below):

Which version do YOU think worked for Charles?

Tana Mongeau

As we compiled this list, we were taken aback by how many options there were to choose from with Tana Mongeau. Seriously, have you checked out the 21-year-old’s channel recently? Take a look at what we mean (below):

Yeah… Jake Paul‘s fake wife has had her fair share of mea culpa moments!

Although, we’re not sure what scandal could be worse than what went down at TanaCon.

After the powers that be over at VidCon reportedly snubbed Mongeau by not granting her a Featured Creator slot to their convention in 2018, the influencer decided to take matters into her own hands and create an alternate (rip-off) version named after herself. It was originally planned as an all-access weekend event for Tana’s subscribers and fans to be held at a hotel in Anaheim, California — just down the street from VidCon itself in late June.

The only problem is, Mongeau and her team never organized anything for Tanacon — much to the surprise of over 5,000 guests who bought tickets and were left waiting outside in the sun for hours with no information. Attendees who did make it inside of the venue found nothing but an open hallway and concert hall absent of any influencers or personalities. The entire situation was a nightmare and a safety hazard which forced the Anaheim Police Department to shut down the event after just one day.

Just imagine it as the Fyre Festival of YouTube conventions, if you will.

Mongeau took a few months off social media before returning with the apology video (below).

But there’s a little more to the story…

The YouTuber also sat down with Shane Dawson (an early promoter and slated celebrity guest for Tana’s convention) for an emotional, tell-all interview in his three-part documentary about the whole fiasco, which you can check out (below):