My Letter to Markiplier After His Curtis Lepore Collab

Hey Mark.

You're probably not going to see this, given every bit of a mail you get, but I have to get this off my chest.  & you have to know what's happening.  What’s REALLY happening.

Let me start off with this: I have been a committed fan since September 2012.  I have been an active member of the community on Tumblr [I remember when it was EMPTY & literally only me & six other people posting videos.]  I have been to a number of livestreams & donated to a number of charities.  I’ve been a part of many Facebook groups that have come & gone.  & I have gotten to know other Markiplier fans in schools & communities that I have been in.  Believe me when I say that I adore you & this channel.  You inspire me to be a better person with your charity work.  You have been the reason I keep going through tough times in my life.  You have been a motivation for us all.

However, I have a multitude of issues with the latest comedy sketch that you’ve been in.  Granted, you are probably under contract & may not have been able to leave.  & granted, you may not know everything there is to know on the internet.  But the men that you worked with are very… “problematic.”  Bart Baker has made some disgustingly racist, sexist, & transphobic jokes.  He has okayed the usage of blackface & has made “jokes” out of mental disorders, like anorexia… & is still able to find employment in your industry.  & Curtis Lepore... he’s an actual rapist [with an actual confession in court]…. & is still able to find employment in your industry. 

It’s not necessarily your fault, because they employed you [& again contracts & stipulations & etc], but… it horrified me nonetheless that you were making content with them.  These are people who are so OPPOSITE the values that you instill in us.  They are not heroes in the slightest; they are disgusting & vile - & Curtis’ conduct especially on Twitter [to his ex-girlfriend & other feminists] is shameful & enough to make my blood boil.  Just seeing you next to him… it makes my stomach flip.  I can’t even bear to watch the video in question.  I almost vomited getting the news that you were in a video with him; I can’t picture what I’d do if I actually watched it.

I know that you don’t like to look at “drama” that happens in the tags, but what has been happening is actual war between people who are rightfully outraged at this [& worried about your involvement], & people who are twisting our words out of context to make it seem like we hate you & your channel.  Efforts have been made in the tag to “bury” valid critique of the video with some of the cat pictures you saw, as well as overall “positivity.”  Instead, what we have done has been raising awareness of the conduct of Bart & Curtis, as well as writing about how serious this matter is.  Supporting horrible people like this enables them to stay relevant in the YouTube & Vine communities.  Making content with them says that there is NOTHING wrong with any –ism or rape that they HAVE committed [people in the tags think that these are speculative; NO these are very real acts they have committed.]  & even though you aren’t friends with any of these people, your involvement [I’ve cringed at you reblogging gifs & “jokes” about the video; & I’ve winced at you promoting the video on Facebook] IS supporting them.  People laugh at us & say that we don’t understand the industry, but we do.  & we understand how society works.  Rape culture is normalized because people like Curtis are still relevant; transphobia, racism, ableism, sexism… all of those are normalized because people like Bart are still relevant.  This isn’t just “tumblr activism;” this is the “real world.”

But what’s worse is their conduct toward us with their comments.  Some of them, people who claim to be your heroes, are being downright cold to people who are against rape [which should be everyone, but apparently not.]  They say that we are making this a big deal just to get you to “notice” us, to bring “attention” to us.  They’re right, but not in the way they think they are.  We WANT to call attention to you, but we’re not doing this for the attention~~~  We are not the ones trying to scream LOOK AT ME PLEASE NOTICE ME for “drama.”  We only want you to know that… being in a project with those people… makes us really uncomfortable.  It is INSULTING that they say that this is only for “attention.”  We aren’t doing this for us; we’re doing this for others – namely victims of rape because of Curtis’ “personal life,” as one apt commenter called it.  But THEY want to keep the tag “clean of hate.”  & they want to keep getting notes on their gifs & fanart.  THAT is keeping attention on them, not what we are doing.

I don’t think that you’re a monster in any way [like they accuse us of saying], I really don’t, but I think it would be incredibly anxiety-lifting if you could make a statement.  It doesn’t have to be a vlog or an entire essay; it can be a tweet or a few sentences.  Just say that you DO NOT in any way condone Curtis’ or Bart’s actions.  Because I KNOW that you are not in the same league as them.  You are a force for GOOD while they are forces for BAD.  So many people just want validation that you are OUR hero too.  There have been many people in the tags who have been sexually abused or have known people who have.  & partaking in a video with Curtis without such a statement… it makes them worry about your “professionalism.”  It’s worrying because… if you don’t take a stand for this… does that mean you could potentially make content with MORE bad people?  Maybe even people who have hurt us directly?  It’s a terrifying thought. 

& this next thought is nothing against you personally.  & I’m sorry this has happened in this fandom… but… I don’t feel safe among people I used to trust anymore.  They have turned so much of this into a joke, photoshopping your head onto “Let it go~” gifs & turning this all into a song… some sort of anti-us meme to bring the community back together again… united against people like me.  There have been people who accuse us of being awful “sjws” [with a horrible connotation for “ruining” things.]  People have been harassed in their inboxes.  There have been death threats.  I can’t even post about things on my main blog because I fear that people will put a target on my back.  & even if I DON’T have a target, I still see what they think of us – horrible people obsessed with drama that “isn’t about us” who are committed to ruin your name.  They call us irrational & they discredit our worries as “petty drama.” 

But this means a lot to so many of us.  We do this because we CARE about your channel, your future, & your reputation.  & now it’s become more than you making content with people.   It’s become, when things get really down & dirty, apparent that some of us are going to turn on each other.  People who have claimed to be heroes, real supporters of people who have struggled, will throw that back in our faces & tell us to be quiet.  They say that we’re not “genuine” fans; they say that we’ve turned our backs on you.  They demean us so they can go back to supporting content without thinking about consequences.  But life has consequences!  We just want you, & other people, to see that!

Believe me when I say that I WANT TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING YOU, but all of this makes me so uncomfortable.  I’ve had to leave the community I once felt so welcome in… because… they don’t respect who I am; they don’t respect my thoughts.  People grieve about how our community has grown apart.  People want us to come back together… but I can’t.  I can’t do it.  I can “forgive” you if you make a statement… but I can’t forgive them.  Because they AREN’T sorry for spewing their hate.  This is who they really were.  & it’s a huge betrayal… to see family turn against you as well as others.  They’ve burned bridges & they don’t even care.

I wish you had never been involved in that project… just so none of this could have happened.  I have shed actual tears over “stupid drama” in the tags.  I have had a near panic attack reading what has been exchanged from user to user.  But at the same time… it’s shown me who I can really trust.  & I can’t put my trust in them anymore.  So many of those heroes… they don’t deserve to be called such.  Many of them are “popular” bloggers in your fandom, with thousands of fans, but they have turned on so many other well-meaning fans who ALSO want the best for you.  Again, I’m not doing this just for you to notice me senpai ugu~  I’m doing this because I have been put in situations I have not been comfortable in & I would NOT want you to make content with that man, if he were a YouTuber.  In a perfect world, you would’ve walked out after learning all of this immediately.  Been a full diva & given them the “double finger defense” for being true pricks.  But this isn’t a perfect world.  That obviously didn’t happen.  The video is there & it’s getting thousands of views each day.  Your Facebook feed is full of people who adore it & your purple turtleneck.  But I can’t.

I hope I can continue to trust in you, Mark.  You have done so much good in this world & you can do it once again by making a statement for everyone.  You are a beacon of hope for a lot of people in the industry… & obviously for us fans.  I don’t want to lose faith in you.  I don’t want to lose faith in your cause.  Please know that this is serious & should be dealt with.  Please be the man I know you to be.  I’m begging you.