#bree essig

[cherryblossomwatts]

U should read Bree essrig’s statement abt Shane on twitter

i have! i found it very interesting to read.

i’m not familiar with bree at all, but i’m glad she’s taking some accountability now for her past actions, and that she’s speaking out against shane. i find it very interesting that she explicitly calls shane ab*sive. this also seems to make sense and line up with peter monn’s previous run-in with him and his friend group.

(transcription of the above statement is under the cut.)

[ BEGIN TRANSCRIPTION: “Let’s talk about racism in the YT community... Let me begin by saying this: I was part of an extremely toxic friend group from 2010-2012. The leader of said friend group, let’s call him Plane Pawson (that’s how he likes to publicly talk shit about people so it’s fitting), was (and I’m assuming still is) an actual monster. I could speak about my own experiences & mistreatment but the world doesn’t need any more white tears right now. This is about his flagrant racism and disregard for Black people as well as other POC. I witnessed him ruin the lives and reputations of two of “our” Black friends. He literally ran my friend at the time Qaadir Howard out of town, & said so many nasty and horrifically racist things about him (& countless others) & whenever he was called out about it, would quickly blame his childhood trauma as to why he was the way he was. I left the group shortly after the abuse of Qaadir. Not soon enough, unfortunately, and I’m deeply ashamed to have been part of a friendship that hurt so many people that I deeply cared for.

“The way abusers like Plane work is they treat you like you two are best friends to your face, like you’re the most special person on earth, & the second you turn around, tell everybody how awful and horrible you are. The constant shit talking (about EVERYONE, especially his friends) & the lies led me to believe that he wanted to get help, get better, and ultimately I thought I might be able to help change him for the better. My constant call outs were frequently met with “wow, you really can’t take a joke” & “my audience loves this and they’re mostly people of color”. I’d like to take this moment to apologize to Qaadir who is entirely right about the fact that I was not the best ally at the time. I knew this behavior was wrong but still gave Plane the benefit of the doubt [because] he was one of my best friends. My silence at the time WAS complicity & I take full responsibility for that. I was too afraid to publicly speak out due to my deep depression but I did tell everybody who we both knew privately about his behavior.

“Even though almost everybody took his side at the time, I’m confident it was [because] he was manipulating them like he did me. I’m not giving everyone in the group the benefit of the doubt though. Many continued to embolden his behavior knowing how much he hurt certain people. He even made a video lying about why our friendship ended & I was bullied, DOXXED, & received many death threats & [rape] threats from his fans. I was the one who ended the friendship due to the toxicity of the group. I didn’t like who I was at all, I said many horrible things about many people at the time & I still feel terrible about that. I haven’t spoken to anybody from that group in 8 years & have done so much anti-bullying work, have unlearned so many toxic traits, and am still learning how to be a better ally to Black people every day. Every time Plane’s name trends on Twitter I get deeply triggered, but it’s high time I put my own fears aside to be the best ally I truly can be.

“Plane Pawson is a racist, manipulative abuser & doesn’t deserve the level of success & power he took by using POC, especially Black people for his videos. I’m embarrassed I ever participated in any of his videos where he portrayed a racist character, let’s call her Shanina. I knew it was wrong but I put my own dreams & ambitions first & I sincerely apologize for participating in any project that contributed to mocking any POC. I have and will continue to do better & I am not asking for anyone’s forgiveness. I was part of the problem at the time. 100%. I am truly sorry. If you know him & you’re still defending him, just know that he doesn’t respect you & has talked a massive amount of shit about you behind your back like he does everybody. If you don’t know him but are still defending him, I implore you to take a moment to consider all the other creators out there who are not racist and are incredible people. Thanks for hearing me out. I know there [are] 3 sides to every story, mine, his, & the truth, but I beg you to take a look at the full picture, believe anyone who comes forward as a victim and even consider how many times he has apologized over the years but then continued on with the same behavior.” END TRANSCRIPTION. ]

#screenshot #bree essig #tw abuse mention #tw rape mention #tw death mention #twitter #shane dawson #liv rants #an ask #anonymous