Last night, at approximately 2AM ET, a former employee, Madison Reeve, posted a thread on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, accusing Linus Media Group of cultivating a toxic work environment and encouraging a work culture that was detrimental to her health as well as sexual harassment directed at her by Linus Media Group employees.
“I chose to quit my role at LTT because it, and the working environment I was facing, were ruining my mental health,” her statement begins. “My work was called ‘dogshit’ I was called ‘incompetent’. When I would reach out to managers and try to get help with these situations, I would be told to ‘put on my big girl pants’ and be ‘more assertive’.”
Reeve went on to accuse the company of barring her from videos after she reported being “grabbed multiple times in the office” and being told to “calm my tits” and “stop being such a bitch.”
It’s easy to belittle their suffering like this, saying they should have left earlier. But there is always a back story to how people getting bullied end up getting victimized longer than they should. If you gave Madison’s story more than a cursory look, you would realize that all the classic elements of abusive entrapment were there.
When she accepted the job at LMG, she had jeopardized her visa status in the US and was more or less starting from scratch in a very expensive city in Canada. You would expect the employer to be considerate and supportive of such employees. But LMG insisted that she cancel her patreon account and on representing her (which she says they didn’t do at all). They insisted on taking a cut from her earnings too.
And like many other sexual harassment victims, she wasn’t in a position to walk away like you say. LMG apparently gaslighted her and made vague threats. They certainly had the power to ruin her life with their somewhat mindless fanbase - and she was right to fear it. Leaving the company without another job would have probably ended her up in the streets - forget lawyering up. I honestly don’t think employees in her situation can afford to hire lawyers.
I don’t want to completely believe her words because it’s still hearsay. That said, the evidence in the public is pointing more to the possibility that she may be telling the truth. But it doesn’t help when people just dismiss her saying that she should have stood up for herself. You simply don’t understand the position a victim of a vitriolic workplace finds themselves in.
I don’t want to completely believe her words because it’s still hearsay. That said, the evidence in the public is pointing more to the possibility that she may be telling the truth
I was gonna say I would take what she says with a pinch of salt since she comes across as a drama queen (I literally do not/did not know her outside of the LTT videos), but then an ex-LTT staff member (Colin?) backed her up. It’s now not just an ex employee with an axe to grind.
When I read her thread, the first thing that came to mind was that in addition to whatever labor rights claims she could have, there’s a clear potential claim of promissory estoppel with regard to her move back to Canada and some of the statements made about how LMG would support her independent efforts.
It doesn’t look good for LMG, even with the bare minimum information out there. But honestly, Madison should be more worried than LMG. A sub group of their fan base doesn’t seem too bothered by morality or legality - no matter what stance LMG itself takes. There are stories floating around that they bullied a 10 year old youtuber into suicide and his mother followed suit because she couldn’t take the agony. They say that Linus tried to discourage them, but they did it anyway. I don’t know how true this is. But if it is true, Madison is in for a ride. The only advantage now is that there will be some around to fight back from her side. I’m not surprised that she was hesitant to speak up earlier.
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It’s easy to belittle their suffering like this, saying they should have left earlier. But there is always a back story to how people getting bullied end up getting victimized longer than they should. If you gave Madison’s story more than a cursory look, you would realize that all the classic elements of abusive entrapment were there.
When she accepted the job at LMG, she had jeopardized her visa status in the US and was more or less starting from scratch in a very expensive city in Canada. You would expect the employer to be considerate and supportive of such employees. But LMG insisted that she cancel her patreon account and on representing her (which she says they didn’t do at all). They insisted on taking a cut from her earnings too.
And like many other sexual harassment victims, she wasn’t in a position to walk away like you say. LMG apparently gaslighted her and made vague threats. They certainly had the power to ruin her life with their somewhat mindless fanbase - and she was right to fear it. Leaving the company without another job would have probably ended her up in the streets - forget lawyering up. I honestly don’t think employees in her situation can afford to hire lawyers.
I don’t want to completely believe her words because it’s still hearsay. That said, the evidence in the public is pointing more to the possibility that she may be telling the truth. But it doesn’t help when people just dismiss her saying that she should have stood up for herself. You simply don’t understand the position a victim of a vitriolic workplace finds themselves in.
I was gonna say I would take what she says with a pinch of salt since she comes across as a drama queen (I literally do not/did not know her outside of the LTT videos), but then an ex-LTT staff member (Colin?) backed her up. It’s now not just an ex employee with an axe to grind.
When I read her thread, the first thing that came to mind was that in addition to whatever labor rights claims she could have, there’s a clear potential claim of promissory estoppel with regard to her move back to Canada and some of the statements made about how LMG would support her independent efforts.
It doesn’t look good for LMG, even with the bare minimum information out there. But honestly, Madison should be more worried than LMG. A sub group of their fan base doesn’t seem too bothered by morality or legality - no matter what stance LMG itself takes. There are stories floating around that they bullied a 10 year old youtuber into suicide and his mother followed suit because she couldn’t take the agony. They say that Linus tried to discourage them, but they did it anyway. I don’t know how true this is. But if it is true, Madison is in for a ride. The only advantage now is that there will be some around to fight back from her side. I’m not surprised that she was hesitant to speak up earlier.