Tana Mongeau has finally apologised to fans and creators for her racist past.
The 22-year-old YouTuber has copped mega backlash over the last few months for her racist behaviour, much of which has been exposed over the years. The backlash came to a head amidst the Black Lives Matter movement after multiple Black creators came forward with stories of Tana’s racist microaggressions, including former ‘Trash’ creator Kahlen Barry and ex-friend SimplyNessa.
Despite promising a series of videos addressing the accusations back in June, Tana has seemingly ignored the situtation while continuing to socalise and party throughout the Coronavirus pandemic.
Now, the controversial star says she’s ready to take accountability in her latest video, ‘a long overdue apology.’
Tana, who appears to be reading off a teleprompter, starts by addressing her white privilege, explaining that she has “no right to ask or expect forgiveness” from those she has hurt with her words or actions. She later admits that had a person of colour acted the way she has over the years, they would no longer have a career.
“I want to apologise from the bottom of my heart for being such a big part of cancel culture the entirety of my career,” she says. “I don’t deserve a platform if I continue to act in such a gaslighting and irresponsible manner.”
In a twist, the influencer rebukes her former apology videos, saying she is “disgusted” by them and should have never released them to such a large platform. Tana admits she spent years deflecting and making excuses for her behaviour which is reflected in those videos. She calls herself out for performative activism and confesses that she was more concerned with getting fans to like her again rather than actually changing as a person.
With over 5 million subscribers, Tana says she now understands the impact her ignorance has had on her audience and explains that she did not want to come back to YouTube until she has done some difficult inner work.
“I see so clearly now the microaggressions and terrible values that I was enveloped in for 15 years of my life. I see so clearly now the problem with the things I grew up thinking were funny and the sense of humour I developed.” Tana apologises for her racist tweets and says they clearly show how much hate she had inside her.
Tana also apologises to Kahlen Barry and SimplyNessa directly. She says despite Kahlen and Nessa’s efforts to show her the error of her ways, she didn’t listen because she was convinced she was a good person and had nothing to learn. “You would have saved me a whole lot of hell had I listened to you, and I want you to know that I know that.”
“If a person of colour ever accuses you of microaggression, the right thing to do is apologise,” she says. “Because who am I to decide if I made that person feel that way?”
Though she apologises to Nessa, the viral star calls their falling out “complicated,” as 16-year-old girls fall in and out of friendships all the time. Tana maintains that she takes accountability for her microaggressions towards Nessa and says she recognises that career-wise, things have come easier to her because of her white privilege.
Tana finishes by claiming this is her “last apology video ever” and she will hold herself accountable from now on. “I will strip my ego,” she says. “And I will apologise.”
“I am so sorry to my fans that I never gave a proper apology to, that I gaslit,” she concludes. “I refuse to come back to this channel unless I am changing into a person down to the core that is deserving of this responsibility.”
Tana says she will be donating to the NAACP, LDF, Feeding America, and Pandemic of Love. She also endorses Joe Biden for President of the United States and encourages viewers to register to vote.
And that’s on Tana Mongeau finally taking accountability. We hope.