Getty Co-founder and CEO of Patreon Jack Conte and co-founder and CTO Sam Yam
The crowdfunding platform Patreon came under a lot of heat in certain circles after the site decided to ban British YouTuber Sargon of Akkad. Earlier this week, Patreon came out with a long explanation of why they’d de-platformed Sargon. You can read the full text of the Patreon statement here.
Patreon says that Sargon violated their hate speech guidelines by using derogatory language and racial epithets, and by making sweeping, negative generalizations about whole groups of people. Now, Sargon is routinely criticized for being anti-feminist and for his diatribes against political correctness. But that’s not what Patreon is upset about. According to Patreon, Sargon of Akkad crossed the line into hate speech during a long interview he did on someone else’s YouTube channel. Patreon’s transcript of that interview is below. The site says that the language was offensive and racist; Sargon and his supporters have argued that he was using slurs derisively to refer to a group of neo-Nazis. Here’s the transcript, via Patreon:
“I just can’t be bothered with people who chose to treat me like this. It’s really annoying. Like, I — . You’re acting like a bunch of n*****s, just so you know. You act like white n*****s. Exactly how you describe black people acting is the impression I get dealing with the Alt Right. I’m really, I’m just not in the mood to deal with this kind of disrespect.”
“Look, you carry on, but don’t expect me to then have a debate with one of your f**gots.…Like why would I bother?…Maybe you’re just acting like a n****r, mate? Have you considered that? Do you think white people act like this? White people are meant to be polite and respectful to one another, and you guys can’t even act like white people, it’s really amazing to me.”
Sargon made the comments as part of a longer, wide-ranging interview with a YouTuber named Michelle Catlin. You can watch the full interview here:
Sargon’s Followers Are Threatening to Boycott Patreon & Others Say They’re Creating an Alternative Crowdfunding Site
After Sargon’s removal from Patreon, many of his followers took to Twitter to announce that they won’t be using Patreon any longer. Even after Patreon issued its explanation, Sargon fans said they were outraged by the idea that the site would de-platform Sargon over something he said on another site. Many of his followers also said that in fact, Sargon was trying to attack “Nazi” thinking and that he was justified in used strong, upsetting language to push back against political correctness.
A Business Insider report shows that a number of controversial Patreon users — people who are ideologically more or less aligned with Sargon — have lost subscribers on Patreon, as Sargon followers back out of Patreon. And Patreon itself acknowledged, in an email to Business Insider, that the site has lost subscribers amid the backlash: “I understand that some of your patrons have left due to the decision of Patreon to remove Sargon of Akkad’s creator page from our site,” the Patreon representative said in the email, adding, “We want to provide you with the tools to make your Patreon experience a successful one and keep you feeling supported whenever you may need.”
Earlier this weekJordan Peterson, a Canadian professor who positions himself against political correctness, vowed to create an alternative to Patreon. He said that he and the conservative thinker Dave Rubin were hoping to make the site public “before public.” Peterson made the announcement on YouTube; you want watch is above, or here.