Absolutely AMAZING response by Watcher imo.

They acknowledged that they made a mistake, made the wider context more clear, and addressed basically all of the criticisms brought forward by the community as far as I know.

Anyone who already subscribed to the streaming service who no longer wants it gets a refund.

Patrons get a free subscription to the streaming service.

The service now only offers early, ad-free episodes that will still be released on YouTube.

They acknowledged the insensitivity of the original pitch and how the price is not something that everyone can afford.

THIS is how you respond to backlash, especially this widespread. Take time to collect your thoughts, take the criticism into account, and change your actions going forward.

Great job Watcher 👏

Miles is ONCE AGAIN here with the jokes

wild few days to be a casual watcher fan

Watchergate: 4/19-4/22

the ex buzzfeed employee to 3 sad looking guys on a grey couch pipeline is absolutely hysterical

the dropout and watcher fandoms are pretty chill most of the time except this week the dropout fans get to talk about wenis while watcher fans speedrun the five stages of grief

you know shit went down when it’s three ex buzzfeed employees apologizing on a couch

there’s only one innocent in the watcher situation and it’s him

They can put their clip back in the green

Remaking a meme I made this weekend after the Watcher apology



“So you forgive them, just like that?”

i’ve never felt that it was a matter of forgiveness, more of if you accept to continue watching the content and creators even if you disagreed strongly with a business move and they way they presented it. if you can move past it. forgiveness would be more personal, and imply a relationship.. which isn’t the case. i think shane and ryan are great content creators, and i find their content very entertaining, they’ve taken accountability and changed the issues i had with the streamer. why wouldn’t i come back?

“they’re still money hungry, they revealed their true colors!”

they’re a business, and they have 25 employees that rely on them. of course they’re looking for profit, and expand the business. that’s what businesses do

and you know i gotta say. the vast majority of the people losing their shit this weekend made it very clear that they do not understand the difference between "artists who want a measure of comfort in their lives" and "the billionaires actually being targeted by phrases like eat the rich." that is such a weird thing to be so proud to announce to the whole entire internet.

it's also extremely weird to behave as though any individual is entitled to an artist's work for free. or that the audience should be the final say in determining what an artist creates. there is a major difference between the betrayal of an artist who produces art and then banks on their social capital to engage in harmful, violent, bigoted behavior (like jk rowling) and the "betrayal" of an artist who decides that they should be or need to be compensated for their work. the latter isn't actually a betrayal at all. it's just a shift.

the thing is that the watcher boys didn't invent capitalism, they didn't invent the streaming model, they didn't invent youtube or patreon. they aren't getting 100% of the money from either. their merch doesn't magically appear as if made by elves while they sleep. their videos don't happen out of nowhere and without incurring bills. they have a business which employs people, and sure, you can say they employ too many people, but do they actually? a bunch of randos on the internet don't actually know that. they don't know these job titles, or how necessary it is to have everyone there. it's pure speculation. the entire company exists within a system they did not invent and are trying to stay afloat in said system while a bunch of assholes on the internet berate them for not acquiescing to their every whim at the expense of their artistic integrity, their ability to compensate their staff fairly, and their ability to keep making art.

and jumping from "i want to continue enjoying this artist's work for free" to "i think people should be fired and the remaining employees should be given greater responsibilities and more tasks to complete" is wild to me. there's nothing leftist in that and so trying to leverage leftist jargon to prove some sort of moral superiority is fucking wild, it's disingenuous, and it's sketchy as hell. you're allowed to be disappointed. you're not magically exempt from being told you're being an asshole if you decide your disappointment entitles you to take part in asshole behavior.

"but we don't want something heavily produced and we don't want these shows" then don't watch! that's it! don't watch! you are not being held hostage and forced to engage with this content. you have the choice not to. throwing a tantrum and launching racist vitriol at steven lim and demanding he step down as CEO shows a level of entitlement and childishness that, frankly, i wish they could have ignored, but they're both kinder & more patient than i am.

anyway congratulations to watcher on their new streaming service and their gorgeous new website, congratulations to the boys on a new step in their careers and on achieving something they've made clear they've wanted for ages, thank you to the boys for all their hard work and for sharing their creativity with us. thank you too for taking such a big and genuinely brave step to no longer be beholden to major corporations and advertisers so you can make the art you want to make. thank you to steven lim for taking so many steps back to keep the company running and for doing your best in a shit economy and while being targeted by this kind of nastiness online. and thank you to the entire team at @wearewatcher for continuing to do amazing work despite being treated like shit by the fan community at large on the internet while you're trying to make a living and create art. you all deserve better than you've been shown of late and i hate that such an exciting moment got overshadowed by so many temper tantrums.

because the whole fucking point, the dream, is getting to make the art that matters to them, without being held back. i'm sorry y'all don't want the heavily produced and high quality shit but your preferences as a member of an audience are not the law by which artists should abide. they are artists and they are free to, and deserve to, make the art they want to make.

as a person of color myself, my heart hurts especially for the people of color that will never feel safe in the watcher fandom again.

for any poc that need to hear this: i fucking LOVE YOU. i’m sorry you were made to feel like you were less or worse than. you are NOT.

Summary of the Watcher apology video:

So they’ve started by saying we’re sorry we are gonna make changes

They acknowledge they didn’t announce it well and didn’t properly express appreciation for their audience

They have apologized for the cost and stating that the cost was smth everyone could afford

They’re making it so you can watch shows on the streaming platform a month early and ad free before they come out on YouTube for free

For those that have already subscribed they will issue a full refund if you want it

All episodes and series will remain on YouTube and new ones will premier on YouTube a month after they premier on the streaming service

They said they did it because they didn’t want to have to conform to YouTube ad requirements, didn’t want to fire anyone, and didn’t want to end the company which would’ve happened if they stayed on YouTube only

They said they overlooked how this would impact the fans

They are giving all patreon members a free subscription to the platform and will give a refund to those who already paid

Was reading comments on instagram. And the stark difference between the comments under Steven’s and Shane and Ryan’s posts is crazy. The way people are putting ALL the blame on Steven and babying Ryan and Shane is mindblowing. They might not be the CEOs but they are cofounders of the company. Ain’t no way they didn’t have ANY say in the matter and it’s 100% Steven’s decision.

“Is Steven holding you guys hostage?” “We will support you if you(Ryan) and Shane go off and do something of your own” “this isn’t you” etc

At the end of the day Shane and Ryan are strangers to us, what we see and know about them is what they want us to see. Get a grip and realise that, thanks.

As a treat (and a little celebration) here’s high af Professor

You know what? good for him