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[SuperPoncho]

Not great in my opinion...Also where are people getting the idea he left polygon? The way I read it they terminated him.

 

[Mechazawa]

A gripe I have with this apology is he harps a lot on the "position of power" thing when some of his DMs were inappropriate even in the context of just some nobody firing off some messages. This apology doesn't really seem like he actually understands that.

 

[Guess Who]

the judge of "how good of an apology is this" will be how the women he bothered take it.

 

[LordKano]

Great response but I wonder how he'll bounce back from this, if at all

He has a very strong fanbase. He'll probably work alone from now, likely on his patreon.

 

[wbEMX]

It's refreshing to see someone say that they fucked up. What he did is still bad, but it's still what I would call a proper apology.

 

[Makonero]

Okay fine, but words are cheap. We'll see what he does from here onward.

What he has earned with this statement (from me) is that I'll take him at his word for now. I'm glad to see he apologized and I hope he means what he says.

 

[ultron87]

I dunno, it feels like he's kind of lessening what he did by saying that it was just flirting and hitting on people that would've been fine to keep doing had he not become a public individual. The DMs that were shared and what was hinted was immensely inappropriate for anyone to do regardless of position.

 

[bananafactory]

This apology also entirely hinges on the basis that he did not know he was making these people uncomfortable.

If anything comes to light indicating people had asked him to stop or clearly expressed their feelings and he persisted then this is a much weaker statement

 

[SplitYourInfinities]

Easy to say you are going to change, now prove it.

 

[BitStyle]

the judge of "how good of an apology is this" will be how the women he bothered take it.

Yep. In the end, it's not our apology to accept.

 

[Mael]

Do folk mind if I ask them why they feel like this is a good apology? Accusations seemed pretty clear that what he was doing was inarguably harassment, but all Nick seems to be apologizing for here is aggressive flirting without realizing his position of power might confuse the situation. There doesn't seem to be any acknowledgment of harassment at all.

"I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable," does not seem a parallel apology to the accusations being made. Which is just to say that this entire situation doesn't feel appropriately concluded.

We're so used to shitheads doubling down and being "sorry you were offended" that this seems like a feature length biopic saying "SORRY" in capital letters.

 

[watershed]

Leaving Polygon is the right move. His words seem sincere. I hope he doesn't launch a Patreon in 2 months asking fans to fund some project of his and claim he was blacklisted by SJWs or something. He doesn't seem like the type so hopefully that never happens.

 

[Nights Owl]

I don't really like how he replaced 'harassment' with 'flirting' but it seems he's decently aware he has issues to sort out. Good luck.

.

 

[Damn Silly]

At the very least it seems like a genuine apology.

It's not for me to forgive him though, but the women he went after.

 

[CannonFodder52]

Hmm he seems pretty forthcoming and honest but one question I have is where he says " sliding into dm " a move more weighted when you're a public figure....

Isn't some of what he did actually inappropriate for anyone to do? Not just someone in a position of power? I didn't follow the story too closely but that part kind of stuck out to me.

A lot of the discussion and criticism was around him using his position of influence to do this and the power dynamic at play. So I guess that's what's being addressed.

 

[NotLiquid]

A gripe I have with this apology is he harps a lot on the "position of power" thing when some of his DMs were inappropriate even in the context of just some nobody firing off some messages. This apology doesn't really seem like he actually understands that.

One of the first few tweets that broke the ice about this whole debacle were some of the victims (or at least people who knew of the victims) pointing out the fact that him being in a "position of power" as it were made coming out against him throughout the months all the more frustrating and worrisome. They were incapable of speaking out against him. Being a person of more influence doesn't make the "crime" itself any more or less bad but there is no escaping that it makes people more afraid of you and afraid of the consequences.

Him pointing out that he is in a position of power is him recognizing that these people who he had hurt were probably scared shitless of ever making light of his behavior, while also recognizing that without someone to bring him down from his position of comfort, it all likely got to his head as well.

 

[LegitMcfalls]

Im glad he apologized. He screwed up pretty hard. It sucks he lost his job but Polygon has to keep its image and it will be hard for him to be an online personality ever again. However he is a rather creative individual so imagine he will find another job making content in the not so distant future.

 

[Pacbois]

Taken at face value this is a good apology, and him leaving polygon is a good call. Now I really hope this is genuine and that lessons will be learned. I'll miss his work but it's the best outcome for this situation. (I do hope CGI can continue, perhaps with pat and/or simone replacing nick but i'm not putting my hopes up)

 

[Raging Spaniard]

Well, good for him. Hes young enough to be able to learn and move past this. Lets hope he takes this as a chance to better himself.

 

[BTA]

Do folk mind if I ask them why they feel like this is a good apology? Accusations seemed pretty clear that what he was doing was inarguably harassment, but all Nick seems to be apologizing for here is aggressive flirting without realizing his position of power might confuse the situation. There doesn't seem to be any acknowledgment of harassment at all.

"I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable," does not seem a parallel apology to the accusations being made. Which is just to say that this entire situation doesn't feel appropriately concluded.

Yeaaaaah that's really what's bugging me here too.

Even from the few specific things I've seen alone, he did more shit than just flirting a bit too much and this doesn't address any of that.

 

[Squire]

"I believe that when someone says you've hurt them or made them uncomfortable, the right thing to do is not to argue, it's to listen."

I don't know how to feel about Nick yet but I will give him this - in this generation of very vindictive, overly defensive people online, he understands what very few people put into similar kind of situations ever seem to do when it comes to owning up, and that is immensely commendable.

Sometimes all you need to do is just to dial down and listen.

Agreed.

That said, I wouldn't jump to complimenting this apology too much. Nick conflates "flirting" with what he's been accused of - harassment. It's unfortunate and it's a big reason why so many men find themselves here. I really hope that while he's listening and hopefully learning, he adopts a lens other than his own; A female one.

There is so much more to this than being a bad flirt who doesn't get it when it isn't working.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Seems like a genuine apology. Hope he betters himself going forward.

 

[Mechazawa]

One of the first few tweets that broke the ice about this whole debacle were some of the victims (or at least people who knew of the victims) pointing out the fact that him being in a "position of power" as it were made coming out against him throughout the months all the more frustrating and worrisome. They were incapable of speaking out against him. Being a person of more influence doesn't make the "crime" itself any more or less bad but there is no escaping that it makes people more afraid of you and afraid of the consequences.

Him pointing out that he is in a position of power is him recognizing that these people who he had hurt were probably scared shitless of ever making light of his behavior, while also recognizing that without someone to bring him down from his position of comfort, it all likely got to his head as well.

I'm aware of all that. But the crux of the issue is still ultimately how he acted.

Saying "I'm sorry because what I did takes on a different meaning when I have more weight to throw around" is different than outright saying sorry for what you did in the first place.

 

[forknknife]

He must feel like such an idiot...

 

[BUNTING1243]

decent apology

regardless, getting fired from polygon and with this in his past means he's probably done being a big internet personality or whatever

 

[Jintor]

Okay

 

[purseowner]

This was the statement I hoped to read.

Respect for his reflectiveness and sympathy for the situation he now finds himself in. Now let's see if he can be less of a scummy human being going forward.

Edit:

The more I read the statement, the more the holes start to show and the bullshit shines through. He needs to face up to the fact that this was not 'flirting' but harassment.

 

[RoboPlato]

I hope he really does grow from this and realize just how shitty what he did was and that it wasn't just "flirting". He's got a lot of work to do to win back any respect and hopefully he just leaves women alone for a while and understands how he impacted those that he harassed.

 

[Slayven]

A little too jokey, and "aw shucks".

But at least he didn't double down or blame the MSM.

The bar is that low

 

[Orayn]

It's neither the best nor the worst he could have done. There's at least a whiff of "I'm sorry I got caught" in there.

 

[kai3345]

the stuff about him not understanding the power dynamics of being famous kind of reeks of bullshit when his brother is about 10x more famous than he is, and has been so for longer

 

[Doctor Decimate]

This isn't "sorry I did these things."

It's "sorry I did these things while internet famous."

Stop calling this a good, genuine apology.

 

[wamberz1]

A gripe I have with this apology is he harps a lot on the "position of power" thing when some of his DMs were inappropriate even in the context of just some nobody firing off some messages. This apology doesn't really seem like he actually understands that.

Was going to say this.

Motherfucker, being high on the popularity/power ladder has nothing to do with this. You were a fucking creep who asked girls to send nudes. If you were some nobody and did the same thing you'd still be a creep.

 

[Dremorak]

Oh wow, thats not what I expected him to say, but thats good. Hopefully he does follow through with those changes

 

[Goofalo]

This has worked out for both parties. Polygon is no longer an employer, and Nick didn't set fire to everything around him.

I feel like he'll get another job in the industry. I am undecided as to if that is a good idea. But, its still a fresh thing, and maybe his next job won't be front facing.

 

[RMI]

Given how these kinds of controversies usually end in kicking screaming fits I'm surprised this turned out the way it did. Good on him for apologizing.

 

[ScientificPizza]

It's hard to recover from something like this, especially since his "flirting" was repeated, aggressive, and clearly rebuffed several times. It's an apology, he's not just saying they're lying, but I don't know if he recognizes exactly why people are pissed at him. He shouldn't be doing this shit regardless of if he's in a position of power or not. But if he can turn himself around/if he's actually willing to listen, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt but he needs to work a little more for me to like him again.

Yeah I think just reducing what he's been shown to have done as just flirting is incredibly disingenuous

It's great that he apologised but i'm sick of apologies being like oh well i didn't know so how bad of a guy can i really be

 

[Alucrid]

after reading and hearing all about "soft boys" i can't help but side eye this

 

[funkystudent]

You never quite get the apology you want. Just be happy the right actions have been taken. (He no longer has a job)

 

[Mr. Sam]

I think the reframing of harassment as harmless flirting... but I just didn't realise I was in a position of power (and continuing once being rebuffed, and being weirdly aggressive) is very convenient. He's fortunate that the bar has been set so low that something like this appears like "owning up".

 

[NotLiquid]

I'm aware of all that. But the crux of the issue is still ultimately how he acted.

Saying "I'm sorry because what I did takes on a different meaning when I have more weight to throw around" is different than outright saying sorry for what you did in the first place.

Of course. I won't deny that it isn't exactly a spotless apology, but it is fairly important for him to recognize that he did get away with these things for quite a while because of who he was. Hopefully he continues to learn the right things from all of this.

 

[Yearsoflurking]

the stuff about him not understanding the power dynamics of being famous kind of reeks of bullshit when his brother is about 10x more famous than he is, and has been so for longer

What does hiis brother have fo do about him. He himself have never been in this position of "power" before. People forget he had a fairly regular job except it's in the media where you're exposed to people like you have ownership power.

 

[ratcliffja]

This reminds me of the end of Quiz Show with all the apology compliments. Yes, it's a good apology, but we have to be careful not to lose track of the actions for which he apologized. I hope he can truly grow from this and realize just how much he hurt people. Men in general often don't realize how sleazy they can be when trying to hit on girls. Boundaries are important, especially when you're in a position of power.

 

[SuperPoncho]

I'm aware of all that. But the crux of the issue is still ultimately how he acted.

Saying "I'm sorry because what I did takes on a different meaning when I have more weight to throw around" is different than outright saying sorry for what you did in the first place.

This...it seems that people are looking for anyway to let him off the hook and feel good about watching/following him again.

 

[kai3345]

What does hiis brother have fo do about him. He himself have never been in this position of "power" before. People forget he had a fairly regular job except it's in the media where you're exposed to people like you have ownership power.

i just find it hard to believe that his brother never offered him any advice on how to navigate fame & "groupies"

 

[Twilight Princess]

Now go away and never come back.

 

[BRocknRolla]

the judge of "how good of an apology is this" will be how the women he bothered take it.

This was my thought too. Only the people closest to him in this situation know his sincerity, or even if that matters.

 

[Warnen]

Wish him luck in the future, maybe not something so public facing unless he grows up a but. Best wishes.

 

[brawly]

Power brings out your true nature. I would die of shame hitting on someone on twitter the way he did.

 

[AAMARMO]

Read while listen to this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awWLqs_y_Sc