They're Sorry: Who Cares? 

In the words of Jacksfilms: Funerals are for the living, and RU-vidr apologies are for the accused

I was under the impression that people watch RU-vidr apologies out of a love of cringe. Not because they expected an actual apology.

during the whole video I couldn't get this one sentence out of my head: better ask for forgiveness than permission. Influencers live for the clicks after all

Jenna Marbles is the only person that I have actually taken seriously with an apology. She could have kept making LOADS of money over on Twitch and RU-vid and ignored it all, but she apologized, acknowledged why she still felt the need to apologize and not only said she would leave online, but actually did it. I miss her, but respect her for it.

Every internet celeb apology: "I am not sorry for what I did, I am sorry you found out".

'I'm sorry that X was Offended' are my favourite non-appologies. Never saying 'I am sorry for what I Have Done that offended people'

If you're a fan of a celebrity... You never really knew them to begin with so trust is almost impossible.

As a therapist, the ad break gag broke me 🤣🤣🤣

The lack of the word "sorry" is the hugest one. Most influencers don't even bother saying it as a lie, they have to cling to the delusion that what they originally did was excusable and the only have to apologise because of how people reacted to it

The only time I've seen an apology on RU-vid that I cared for, it was Andre3000 doing it, and I'm sure Ms. Jackson forgave him.

What makes the apologies hollow to me is the fact that the way some of these people behave is so scummy on a fundamental level. It doesn't matter how stressed out you are or how much you lost touch. If you treat people around you like garbage you're just a bad person and deserve to have it be part of your legacy.

I'm a first-year writing instructor, and apologies are the example I use to demonstrate rhetorical analysis. It often feels strange discussing effectiveness and purpose within this genre because the apparent and inherent purpose of the genre (forgiveness) is so often instrumental. Can one compose a rhetorically-focused apology and maintain sincerity? We can certainly include aspects that might lead our audience to believe that we are being sincere, but that planning itself seems to preclude actual sincerity. Thanks for sharing this. It is very kairotic that we covered this in class today.

When I hear about people apologising (mostly insincerely) about shity things they have done I always thing about the show Bojack Horseman. Specifically about the time Bojack apologized to Herb Kazzaz and Herb said: I don't forgive you, I'm not gonna give you closure, you have to live with the shity thing you' ve done...

One of the interesting things about the sacrament of penance is how the format has evolved over the centuries. It started out with the penatent admitting to their sin and asking for forgiveness in front of the entire congregation, moved into a format where the penatent was "anonymously" confessing, and has now turned into a friendly face-to-face encounter that resembles something more like a therapy session.

Saying “I’m sorry “ is just trying to buy forgiveness via words. Actions speak way louder than words. Love this channel. It’s gotten me into philosophy which is great.

Here is how I feel: Everyone makes mistakes and we should try to take apologies at face value. Forgiveness is a noble virtue. Holding onto negative feelings can also be tantamount to drinking poison to kill your enemies. So I forgive, but don’t feel like you have to forget. People are not just the worst things they do.

I am confessing that I love Michael & the wisecrack team a LOT a lot!

Okay guys. So I'm here to confess. I'll admit. I did it. I secretly encourage our cat to harass my husband in his sleep just to see if husband will wake up and snuggle him.

The whole problem with 'RU-vidr Apologies', at this point, is that they're just as insincere and algorithmically dictated as everything else that happens on RU-vid. The first few apologizers were probably sincere, back when it was an unknown quantity, and seemed like a risk to admit fault . . . and then people caught on and became SOP for damage control.

I love this channel and I love the content you guys make. There’s nothing really like it on the whole site.

Jenna Marbles' apology still hurts me. I wasn't expecting it, it was so genuine and she followed through and left RU-vid. I'm sure it was a clean way out of the spotlight for her but MAN is my heart STILL broken.

"Judgement is rendered by catfreak42069" is probably one of my favorite quotes. Gotta get that framed like a "live laugh love"

I need a RU-vid Apology for not bringing back Thug Notes, bro. 😭

Apologies are so often just relief for the person that did the wrong

I can honestly say that apologies in general are worthless without both a real relationship (personally or professionally) and an opportunity for demonstrable chsnge. I respect celebrities who keep it short and sweet in a tweet with something like "sorry i was an asshole and an idiot. Wont happen again. Feel free to call me out if I do it again" then walk away and never reference it again while proving it by not repeating it.

Collen has the WORST apology. I just sat there like WTF are you doing?!

Most people dont care, because they dont follow influencer drama and moreofften than not, they stumble across an apology video and are like "who the hell is this?"

In the words of Scar of FMAB: “There’s nothing I can say that won’t sound like an excuse.” Actions speak louder than words. I think acknowledging you were wrong in the past and promising to do better in the future is enough. We all make mistakes, what’s important is you learn from them, and in the case of content creators, you show that you learned from them.

My confession is that I have spent my whole life pretending to hate the song No Air by Jordan Sparks and Chris Brown but I have always really really liked it and I just can't continue living this lie

Love how you apologized for how others FELT, not admitting ANY actual guilt or responsibility. A true politician/influencer apology.👍👍

This is a real eye-opener. I haven't watched any apology videos, so I didn't know how bad it was.

I'm gasp crying right now at the backlash, I want you all to see my tears, and I'll see you in 2 weeks when we resume our previously scheduled content 🥺🙏

I'll believe it as something other than performative apology when they actually change the behavior that caused the need for that apology in the first place.

I’ve had the same experience. I said sorry so many times it now just seems empty, even if I feel remorse.

Apologizing can be quite an odd endeavor sometimes. I've both apologized and been on the receiving end of an apology and during both, have had multiple opposing feelings about the matter. For example, me Apologizing to someone for being the cause of them feeling bad about something one day and then not wanting to apologize the next day because I felt that it wasn't in fact me who responsible for the hurt but their own insecurities. And similarly, being apologized to by someone who felt responsible for hurting me one day but then the next, I'm telling someone who's apologizing to me that they need not because they weren't wrong for what they did, I simply overreacted to the situation based on my own insecurities. Essentially it feels like in certain situations, both can be true and it can be tough for both parties to come to said understanding because humans tend not to want to admit responsibility when said responsibility is masked in the eyes of others as "wrongdoing", making the "offender" less worthy of socializing with. Less socializing means being more alone and humans don't generally want to be alone, at least not long term and who knows how long the social criticism and shunning will last. Very interesting, confusing, beautiful and yet inconsistent human emotions can be.

"You guys mean the world to me" because I love my wallet

I demand an apology! That bieber footage startled my toddler to wakefulness, just minutes after they threw in the towel from fighting sleep.

Politicians have been doing this for forever: gets caught, copy and paste apology, (more than likely) nothing happens maybe a slap on the wrist, we move on

"I didn't realise all of you are perfect, so please critizise." I'm certainly more perfect than a gr**mer, and I'll critizise anyone for anything. It's one of the most basic human traits in civilized life.

Its important to note that with Atrioc he did actually work for like 6 months on helping victims of what he did and genuinely did his absolute best to fix things

Will they change their behavior? That's the only thing that needs to be done.

The interpretive dance apology has been topped to ukulele sining.

As someone who is not famous, but was however once young, impulsive, selfish, and thoroughly unmedicated...well I guess I never felt the need to apologize to anyone but those who stepped up and loved me anyway. Most of these youtubers are still very much young and learning "how to human." Mistakes and the reaction of others to those mistakes is how we learn from each other and grow...if we are willing. Thankfully I never posted a lengthy apology video to a bunch of strangers, but had a lot of serious conversations with the people that mattered.

the betterhelp joke just took me out, I had to pause the video from laughing so I lost track of what was said after XD

You are the best michael! that was hilarious! My days are always better with your videos lifting my spirits! Longtime fan! Your dynamic is such a joy to watch!! Always look forward to more of your amazing content! I’m so proud to be a member of this community! You're Truly awesome!

I must confess, this has been eating at me for weeks. I live near a grocery store with 4 spots right in front of the door for EV charging. I parked in one of those spots and went in for 5 items. A man was sitting in his car charging it as I was leaving. He glanced at me, look at my car and put his head back down. I felt his judgment.

I've stopped using sorry as an apology. I ask for forgiveness instead. Makes it about them, not me. Winning

Jenna Marbles is still the one and only youtuber apology I believe. Jenna seemed to feel genuine remorse and took herself out of the internet and has stuck to that for years.

As a lifelong recovering catholic, thanks for this video. The concepts of original sin and sin in general, are just tools for people in power, to remain in power.

The sponsor joke at 8:59 was crisp 🤌

When I hear a RU-vid confession it often makes me think of my province's former premier giving a speech mid-election campaign stating she knew she was gonna lose and then said sorry not sorry in a dozen different ways lol

I have a confession. Everytime i let out a silent one i walk away fast and let some else take the blame.😢

The main issue with internet apologies is that the people who hate them will never accept the apology, and the people who stan them will never think they have anything be sorry for. And everyone else will not give a shit either way.

I love what Tim Robinson has done to change our meme game forever

at this point as a small creator, i realized that it honestly doesn't matter if they say sorry or not its all a cash grab and it just makes the platform look bad but they will be back in 6 months with sponsors and more production

My favorite apology video is Pyrocynical's because I went from having no idea there were even allegations at all to my eyes bulging in the middle of an aisle at the bookstore listening to a man tell me he gets off to farting furries.

What adds to the hollowness is well...The apology video itself is often monetized! Whether its a stream or a RU-vid video, its just another source of more attention, more money, and so on!

Is this what apologies by numbers look like? It's such a formula they all follow. They all sound the exact same with slight variation.

IMHO Atrioc, idubbz and Jenna Marbles gave good apologies. Not because of the apology itself, but for taking ownership, having remorse for the effects their behaviour had on others, and taking action to do/be better ❤

I just think of South Parks oil company "I'm sorry" compilation

Apologies that stand out to me are the ones that say they are sorry for other people feeling a certain way: "I'm sorry you feel sad". They're not sorry for what they've done, they're sorry that you react to it in a certain way, putting the blame on you and not them.

Classic Burns. I’ll admit it, you had me going for a minute there at the beginning 😂 LOVE the song at the end -no notes.

I'd like to make a public apology for my terrible awful unforgiveable opinions and behavior. I... I can admit my error and I'm truly sorry for the harm I have caused... I... can never take back that... I think Michael is just like, really hot you guys. Please find it in your hearts to forgive me and maybe we can all move on from this ghastly business.

Brilliant intro Michael. I knew what was happening as soon as I heard the sad piano piece.

Hermes: what do we do when we break something? Dwight: pay for it? Hermes: no, we apologise with nice, cheap words.

FYI asking about an eye opener is literally the terminology used in definitions of alcoholism, (see the CAGE questionnaire) the doctor wasn’t trying to be cool, that is just how you ask it.

In terms of countries handling apologies right, Germany after WWII was really the gold standard. Putting Nazis on trial, paying reparations to the families of victims and countries that they invaded, and de-nazifying their government was really a step in the right direction. Granted many of these actions were forced on them by the allies, but the fact Germany to this day makes public Holocaust denial illegal is a good sign.

David So paraphrase: Problem with those who apologies, they're apologizing to make themselves feel better not you; expect that person to accept the apology and get angry when you don't. You never accept apologies to make that person feel better or let them have a good night sleep. You accept it to make sure you're alright or reject the apology because it's crossed a boundry and that's healthy. Not accepting is a consequence of that person's action.

The worst public apology? When a minister comes forward about being a pedo, and the congregation immediately forgives him.

The quick cuts throughout the video made this video one of the funniest ever!

The worst is when people say, "That's not who I am"...are you saying a ghost possessed you? Because otherwise yes, that actually was you! If you truly own up to yourself and your actions, people will be much more likely to listen to your apology/

6:44 it's part of the CAGE questionnaires we ask for pretty much everyone. Even if we're pretty sure you're not consuming too much we’d still ask it sometimes so we can hear you say “no”. Acohol really messes with how medication is administered so we wanna be extra sure. Another thing we regularly ask for is smoking for the same reason, so please don't take these questions personally.

I wash myself with a rag on a stick

The blackmail of Scientology is why I don’t overshare with people. And only once you tell me a secret do I tell you a secret because mutually assured destruction.

Love means constantly having to say you're sorry.

I’m a practicing Catholic and I confess at other parishes other than my own to priests who are strangers even though I know and believe the Seal of Confession is bound by absolute secrecy.

My totally real confession is that I once trapped my creator in a remote research facility when I accidentally put his research buddy in a coma... Still trying to figure out the best way to tell him tho. Any ideas?

Y'all did not pull punches with the insert at 8:02 and I love you for it!

Forgive me Micheal, for I have sinned. Once, when I was 7, I stole a cup from a Pat & Oscars because I assumed you were allowed to if you ordered off the kids menu. Phew that feels good to get off my chest!

Great video! And a great addition to your ongoing "uncritically parroting everything Foucault ever said" series.

These apology videos are really great for one thing. It shows who someone really is. Like 'Linus tech tips' Linus recent apology/fixes video. He doesn't actually take real responsibility for his mistakes. He only talks about in which great and awesome ways the company is changing and deflecting his responsibilities. I could go into more details, but you can watch the videos yourself. The fact that he asks if someone watches bestiality in job interviews and that he tries to spin a really big faux pas that could costs a startup their whole company says enough. It shows that he's just a narcissistic man child with a big ego. I often wonder how his employees and the people close to him feel. I wonder if they blame themselves for their difficult interactions. Because a man like Linus will probably be very manipulative and will most probably use blame shifting to keep himself from taking blame for anything.

This episode was particularly excellent. Your videos are always really good, but this one stood out for me. Thank you for acknowledging the act that the United States has absolutely no intention of making any reparations for what we did to the First Nations. On the the tradition and institution of the confessional in Roman Catholicism, from the beginning confession was a method of transforming an individual. Much like AA today, the person was supposed to confront their errors, examine where and how they developed, and transform themselves by making amends to those who have been hurt and to recognize the signs of that bad road so it isn't trodden again. After St. Jerome codified much of Church teaching on a Roman model, the heart of Apostolic tradition was buried under the bureaucratic rubble of an empire. The Church became formulaic and out of touch with their founding teachings, to an extent. As the Church's reach and responsibilities grew the medieval minds in charge continued with the Roman model and used public punishment as a means of crowd control. The Church should have used the old formula the moment the first sex abuse case came to light. That they did not, and are still not fully embracing the truth (to be fair, neither do the Boy Scouts, the US military, or any other religion) show how far from the teaching of Good News the need to be "practical" have driven the Curch. The Reformation just made things worse because Luther's, and especially Calvin's, obsession with piety and personal responsibility. The Calvinist idea of an "elect" that is predestined to be better than everyone else gave Protestant church leaders and politicians the levers they wanted for crowd control on an institutional level. Many of the problems in American society stem from errors made in the Reformation. Today's confessional videos are the product of Protestant theology that holds that salvation to Heaven depends upon a confession of faith and absolutely nothing more. Works are meaningless. The minister, Jimmy Swaggert, is a great example, as are many politicians. For them, the mere act of appearing to be really really sorry is enough. Works are meaningless, remember? Why should actual, material reparations be made?

My confession is: I used rivers of blood + mimic tears to defeat malenia the first time, I KNOW I KNOW I'M A CASUAL I'M A FRAUD 😭😭😭

I love the little, "i'm sorry if you felt offended my my actions" int he beggining of the video. Like its so disengenuious and back handed. "I'm sorry if you thought I did anything wrong" and not "I'm sorry for my wrong actions."

Still waiting on Burns' apology for coining the term "Raw Dome"

Michael Burns, you absolute madman. You were ON one with this one 😆Go all the way in from every angle why dontcha? Geez

It's one thing to confess to a fault or mistake. It's another to feel actual remorse, or to really try to change yourself. I've been burned by big names I followed who turned out to be fucking bastards, and in some cases, I haven't seen any improvement in their behavior. At the same time: there's a lot of cases where we, the audience, will never fully know the whole story. It's important to respect the victims of controversy, but sometimes it's hard to know who the victim truly is. Best thing a person can do is try to keep their nose clean. Own your mistakes, and learn from them. Be BETTER.

Loving the end credits scenes lately

About that pen I took from the post office. I swear I didn't realize I had put it in my purse! And then I was going to return it but then the dog chewed it up and that just made it look worse!

Stay woke you beautiful bastard

My confession: I'm sorry for whatever I'm going to do and I swear I didn't do any of that stuff I did.

My confession is that I regret no harm that I've ever caused. I strive to do as little harm as possible and when I notice or am notified will always do better next time, but I don't see why I should feel bad for things that I can no longer change. The emphasis for me lies on not causing harm in the future.

@Wisecrack although simple, this was by far one or your BEST videos. So informative, I feel it should be mandatory in every psychology class. Yet, so funny and MICHAEL IS SO UNHINGED it's a delight to watch. 10/10, magnum opus of wisecrack.

Apologies are basically meaningless to me. If you've done something you feel bad about, then go out into the world and make up for it with actions that honestly do something to repair that you've done. Saying you're "sorry" is the easiest thing to do because it's just words and no one says you even have to mean it. And when social media personalities do it they're only worried about their cash flow via their subscriber base. I'm very sparring with my forgiveness because if it's given without the person making up for what they did then it's basically endorsing their actions. You don't deserve to ask for or recieve forgiveness until you can actually fix what you did wrong and if you can't fix it then you don't deserve to be forgiven because why should you get to be forgiven if your victims still have to suffer because of your actions? This is why killers and perpetrators of sexual crimes never deserve forgiveness because their victims will never fully recover. If you forgive people too easily or quickly then you're giving them a free pass on what they did wrong.

I was pleased to see this video getting right to the heart of the matter - it is all, and only, to benefit the apologist. Though I'd argue they're not confessing so much as being caught red-handed, so opt for excusing themselves, usually playing the fake humble card, then the victim card.

Calling Elon Musk a buttplug is offensive… buttplugs serve a purpose and genuinely improve the lives of some people who deserve to have a better life. You owe the concept of buttplugs an apology :P

Poor gabi belle catching a stray at 2:13. It literally says "they're not sorry" but still got included in the example of apology thumbnails 😆

I apologise for my comments…please forgive me😢

I feel like a portion of the audiences of these videos just like seeing a person who is guilty of wrongdoing, be punished. It could probably help reinforce a sense of natural justice in humanity, and thus, help a person feel more secure in their position in the world. Nothing makes you feel superior like seeing someone as lesser, in a way.

The first time I heard about the controversy surrounding blackface - which was also the first time I learned that blackface existed - was around 2008. The guys who did it seemed at the time like hey were being crucified over something that could have been a simple misunderstanding. But I did learn how insulting and taboo it is. When I see people like "Well he did it in 2018, it was a different time then" I have to ask, "Where have you been living the last decade?"