Youtuber known for channels such as Channel 5 and All Gas No Brakes, Andrew Callaghan breaks his silence after two women accused him of sexual coercion and abuse. In the five minute video posted on his Youtube and Instagram, Callaghan apologizes to his fans and announces plans to get sober.
Callaghan is an independent journalist known for his humorous yet cutting interviews. He recently released an HBO documentary called “This Place Rules” where he follows Trump supporters in the months leading up to the Capitol Riots on January 6th.
After the release of the documentary one woman on TikTok recounted an experience with Callaghan where he pressured her into sexual acts. She says that Callaghan “wore [her] down” into giving consent. The video by @cornbreadasserole has since been deleted.
Another woman on TikTok going by @moldyfreckle made a series of videos about Callaghan coercing her into sexual acts as well. More and more posts of similar encounters came out about Callaghan’s general attitude toward women.
https://www.tiktok.com/@moldyfreckle/video/7186135527249186090
In his Instagram post on Sunday, Callaghan acknowledges that he had previously exhibited “sex pest behavior” that is normalized to young men. He did not directly address either women’s accusation, but noted that many of the allegations “missed important contextual information”.
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“I hadn’t realized I had had this pattern that had affected multiple people. I’d like to apologize for my silence. When this stuff first came out, I was in a state of denial and shock,” Callaghan stated. “I was denounced by my closest collaborators and my name was printed in 40 different news outlets, next to the words ‘sexual misconduct.’ I just kind of spiraled into a mental health crisis. I’m okay now, but I don’t really think this is about me. This is about the people I’ve affected. So I just want to express my complete sympathy, support and respect for anyone that I’ve done wrong by. I really want to do better and be fully accountable for everything that I’ve done.”
These Andrew Callaghan allegations are really disturbing and disappointing. Sending my love to the victims
— Ali (@AliTheFern) January 10, 2023
Callaghan announced that he will be seeking treatment for alcoholism. “…not to blame alcohol, but I truly believe that alcohol was a contributing factor to my poor decision-making. And I think alcohol, in general, has had a devastating impact on my life”.
Fans and collaborators of Callaghan have made their devastation of the allegations known on social media.
Absolutely devastated to hear the multiple allegations towards Channel 5's Andrew Callaghan of sexual assault.
Believe the victims and give them a safe environment to tell their stories.— The Serfs (@theserfstv) January 9, 2023
https://twitter.com/brakehage/status/1612280709112102912?s=20&t=1UsHTp6hFKCw_ZhV1e7h2w
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Ethan Klein of H3H3 productions claims that Callaghan admitted to the allegations as true.
https://twitter.com/NathanielKFoley/status/1612987919244922881?s=20&t=1UsHTp6hFKCw_ZhV1e7h2w
Reactions of the apology video have been split. Some expressed agitation over some fans excusing Callaghan’s alleged behaviour.
https://twitter.com/711r0sey/status/1614995470878937088?s=20&t=1UsHTp6hFKCw_ZhV1e7h2w
https://twitter.com/XanderhalTV/status/1615212673175805952?s=20&t=1UsHTp6hFKCw_ZhV1e7h2w
i wanna say that andrew callaghan's instagram apology is a model of what accountability can look like . . . but that would be setting the bar ???????????????? ????????????.
— ???????????????????? ☀︎ ☁︎ (@star_lings) January 16, 2023
Many fans have taken the opportunity to reiterate the definition of consent. Coercion does not make up for two-way consent and that notion is not emphasized enough.
“I thought that persistence was a form of flattery. And I thought that, you know, if at first somebody was reluctant, you know, they’re playing hard to get, just try harder,” Callaghan admits in his video.
