Shane Dawson has released a tearful apology video, addressing past instances in which he has gone on camera in blackface and used racial slurs, and promising to do better.
Earlier this week, YouTuber Jenna Marbles quit the platform and apologised for her past racist behaviour, including videos where she wore blackface to impersonate Nicki Minaj.
Many wondered whether Shane Dawson, who has posted similar content, would make any sort of statement, and he has done so today.
In a twenty-minute video entitled ‘Taking Accountability’, he addressed his fans, saying he has done a lot of things in his past that he “hates”, and he wishes he could make them go away.
While he has addressed his behaviour at various times, he said that every apology he has made in the past has come from “fear”, but that he now wants to “own up” to the things he’s done.
First off, he apologised for his choice to portray Black, Asian and Mexican people in comedy sketches, before addressing his blackface video, saying:
“Blackface was something that I did a lot. There’s no excuse for it. I didn’t do the work. I didn’t look into the history of it and why it’s so wrong, and why people were so upset … I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be Black, and see this White fucking guy do blackface, and the whole internet at that time being like, ‘LOL!’ That’s insane and I am so sorry.”
He went on to apologise for his use of racial slurs, and said he should have lost his career years ago and is now willing to “lose everything”:
“At this point realizing how many people I’ve hurt, or how many people I’ve inspired to say awful things or do anything awful, to finally just own up to all of this and be accountable is worth losing everything to me.”
Shane Dawson apologizes for making videos in blackface, saying N-Word, making jokes about pedophilia and more:
“My childhood, my past, I’ve had a lot of pain. I’ve had a lot of bad things happen to me, a lot of issues with my family. I took that pain and turned it into jokes.” pic.twitter.com/bpiJWhYf08
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 27, 2020
Later in the video, he apologised to Jame Charles for contributing to the “hate” he has received in recent years. He ended things off by promising to do better with his actions, saying:
“It’s okay to be upset at your past self for making mistakes, but also it’s okay if people don’t want to accept your apology and don’t want to support your anymore. That’s okay, too, and I understand.”
You can watch the video below:
