A few things that have been bothering me
I have no idea how this post will be received on this subreddit, but I've been feeling like I'm going crazy seeing some of the reactions to this case and I wanted to make a post to talk about a few talking points that get brought up over and over again by his defenders that really rub me the wrong way.
The most popular defense I see all the time is that "this happened ten years ago and he shouldn't be judged by actions in the past." Besides the fact that trauma like this takes way longer than ten years to move on from (if they even do) this defense would only barely be valid in my opinion if he started his YouTube channel recently. But he didn't. His first video essay came out in 2018, barely two years after the assault. There's no way there was enough time for him to seriously reflect on his actions in that time frame. This was also during the height of #metoo, and he still felt confident enough to begin a YouTube career using his real name knowing that that information was out there. I personally don't think that he would have ever gone public with this if there wasn't a scandal on Twitter and he needed to do some damage control.
The second defense I see is that "his punishment wasn't as severe as some of the other people, so his actions must not have been that bad." Did the people reading the allegations even take a look at what he was charged with? The people charged in the document are either charged with Sexual Misconduct or Sexual Assault or Violence. Jacob Geller was charged with Sexual Assault or Violence. This distinction matters, and while sexual misconduct is horrendous on its own, it is still the lesser of the two. And even though we don't know the specifics, it is looking likely that Geller raped his girlfriend while she was unconscious which in my opinion is one of the worst ways you could assault someone and a complete violation of consent.
Something that's already been brought up is that the apology is only on Bluesky where he has the smallest following and less people will see it. One thing about that I haven't seen talked about is that on his page the pinned post is still the one promoting his most recent video, so even on the one platform where he's acknowledging what he did you have to scroll down to find it. I'm also sick of people saying it's a good apology. You shouldn't end your apology for committing sexual assault by stroking your ego talking about how you've been making the world a better place. Owning up to it, not making any of it about yourself, completely centering the victim and making it as visible as possible is the only way to effectively apologize.
Another thing that's been really weird to see is this weird entitlement that celebrities and their fans feel is granted to them. People are acting like since Jacob Geller is being dropped from platforms he is losing access to a basic need. Nobody deserves fame and fortune. The vast majority of people, especially people outside the western world, are working paycheck to paycheck and live modest lives. Yet Donald Trump got elected a second term, Louis CK's specials are back on Netflix, Andrew Callaghan still has a successful YouTube career, Michael Jackson's music is still played on the radio. If it wasn't for Julie K Brown Jeffrey Epstein would probably still be out there with no consequences. It's like the worst thing for a celebrity is to not be in the public eye no matter what they've done, which I honestly find insulting as someone who is content living an average life. I often joke that if any celebrity has a scandal they should be forced to work at McDonalds for the rest of their life. That's hyperbole, but I think if Geller is really sorry he should keep just enough of his money to live off of, donate everything else to either the victim or an organization that helps victims, and leave the public eye and work a regular job like the rest of us. But that won't happen. Best case scenario he'll make a half hearted apology video (or even shoehorn it at the end of one of his regular videos in between talking about Control 2 or whatever) or he'll just go back to regular uploads and hope people don't notice. I've seen it too many times, there are no real consequences for men that commit these crimes.
Last thing, before anybody comments that I'm just jumping on a cancellation bandwagon, I'm not posting this to grill the guy. I was a huge Jacob Geller fan. I watched so many of his videos, I genuinely thought he was one of the most insightful people talking about video games on YouTube. Even up until very recently, one of his most recent videos about first person perspective was very moving to me as someone who lives in Minneapolis. It felt very cathartic to hear someone talk about the connection between first person killing in games to first person video of the killing of Renee Good. But as soon as I learned the news about his past actions, he was dead to me. I can't see his smug smile in his profile picture or hear his voice without getting angry. He lied to so many people and built up a nice guy image to hide his depraved actions. He did this so quickly after his punishment, and while I believe his love for video games and his opinions in his essays were genuine, it was also very clearly an act to try to launder his reputation. I unsubscribed and will never watch another one of his videos again. If I can do that as a former fan, I challenge those that might be clouded by your parasocial relationship to look at the facts of the case more clearly.