iilluminaughtii may never recover

Generally I don't like to weigh in on KZbin drama or creator controversy, even the ones people try to drag me into. But what's been going on with the channel iilluminaughtii is playing out a bit different than is standard for these things and I found it interesting to talk through why that may be.
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[@CouncilofGeeks]

So I actually got some numbers wrong. iiluminaughtii's high point in terms of subs wasn't 1.5million, it was 1.7million. So the decline wasn't 100K, it was 300K (nearly 20%). So yeah, it's even worse than I laid out on that front (though I stand by my analysis regardless).

[@Site_42]

Absolutely bananas. It’s the train crash you can’t look away from of all train crashes.

[@Thelure2112]

For what it’s worth idk about her “never recovering”. Even the most heinous content creators get their “redemption story”. It may just be a while. Except for the onion man, he shall be the dark Eldlich horror of the internet forever

[@Blade9blood]

Oh wow... 😲

[@marocat4749]

And that is not counting ther patreos support that, not great. That wonder video is, wow, and well edited at that.

[@SplotchTheCatThing]

Have to admit I don't usually like to engage with this sort of youtube drama or the reactions it generates 'cause it so often devolves into a... dumpster fire, to put it delicately :) where nobody involved really has their hands clean and there isn't really a "right side" for any member of the audience to pick. The audience doesn't really have the ability to affect it in any way besides that-- no matter how strongly they feel drawn into it, most of us don't have the platform to do anything. To me it usually seems kinda pointless to watch. But... when I see something has gone on this long and I start wondering what could justify that... I think you're probably one of the best people to answer that sort of question. From the way you handle the media stuff and the more real-world issues you certainly seem like one of the most perceptive and, importantly, objective, people on the platform these days. Not that I think you should be doing more of this stuff -- I definitely understand that desire not to get drawn into something unpleasant that doesn't involve you, and if it wasn't for a situation that even I can see is unusual, I probably wouldn't watch it -- but, I suppose, just to say that I think you're doing a good job :)

[@patrickbarrett7536]

Accusing a legal channel of plagiarism with no proof wasn't a great way to start an argument, yet somehow things only got worse...

[@hiddenechoes]

😂 agreed, rough start

[@Michylawhty]

Not to mention Legal Eagle literally specialises in copyright law

[@charisma-hornum-fries]

​@@MichylawhtyIn several states. He's also an adjunct professor. She couldn't have chosen a worse lawyer to f with.

[@Sugarman96]

The domino meme in action.

[@musicalaviator]

Sending a cease and desist to someone who hasn't done the thing you're asking them to stop is genius

[@nobodyspecial-zy2wy]

I feel like one of the main reasons this one is sticking more is because of who Blair's audience is. They are exactly the type of people who are invested in this type of thing, because this is the type of thing she covers on her channel!

[@cmmosher8035]

Ya I guess you can't build a channel around calling out shitty corporations and then turn out to be a shitty boss yourself and not get called out by your audience.

[@RepubsWannaMarryKids]

She also LIES so much. She pretends like she is this poor broke artist struggling when she has a HOUSE.

[@jamesphillips2285]

@@RepubsWannaMarryKids Sad that you need to be independently wealthy to have a house these days.

[@RepubsWannaMarryKids]

@@jamesphillips2285 ikr? Or at least see more than minimum wage/have several jobs in the house. My dad, who is wealthy and abandoned me at 17, he didn't get why I couldn't simply afford the cost of a 2 BR house even with a roommate. It is cheaper to live in an apartment in L.A. somehow. (I tried to afford a house btw, I didnt even see 1k a month at the time. I became homeless because of that try.)

[@daelen.cclark]

@@RepubsWannaMarryKids I never got that impression of struggling from her. Perhaps I just didn’t see where she said that directly.

[@SpoopySquid]

Was an Illuminaughtii fan up until this all broke, and watching Blaire implode in such a spectacularly terrible fashion was... an interesting experience

[@alejandraruiz5031]

Same here. Found her during the early days of the pandemic and had been subscribed to her for 3 years. I had been falling off her content for a couple of months before this whole debocle, but it was still sad to see her self destruct like this.

[@kevinz.9785]

Many of her fans are in the same boat, myself included. Most of the criticism she is receiving is from former fans that are disappointed in her actions.

[@danielbroome5690]

It didn't surprise me when it happened. I'd watched the videos by her (at the time we didn't know) ex, outlining these exact same behaviours 4 years ago and I always watched her channel cautiously after that.

[@LakeofCrystalclan]

Same here! I initially found her during her late Reddit era, and I was there for the rslash shenanigans. I stopped watching for a while after the Cruel World Happy Mind stuff, but went back to watching her when the well was running dry for interesting content. Then, this all breaks, and I’m gone for good this time.

[@daniellebroekhuizen76]

Same here, also during the pandemic I subscribed to her, but when her "apology" video came and what she 'exposed' of those guys was just awful and false accusations.

[@daintybeigli]

The fact that her downfall was triggered by her own off base accusations is very fitting. Blair was the author of Blair’s downfall.

[@manusiabumi7673]

In the words of vince mcmahon, "blaire screwed blaire"

[@Drakochannojutsu]

"Well well well, if it isn't the consequences of my own actions" in real time lol

[@lms1068]

In yet she will go to her grave complaining about how everyone did her wrong.

[@TheDr502]

Pride comes before fall. The taller they are, the harder they fall.

[@DeathTheKidWazHere]

I think a big thing you’re missing from Click sharing his experience is the fact that Blair had been public attacking him for the years following him leaving sad milk. She was constantly spreading misinformation and digging into frankly stupid shit in the clicks past and using a sock puppet account to do all this while still masquerading as this holier than thou figure. The click didn’t make it public, Blair did by being petty and manipulative

[@orlandez8251]

Yea, it was disgusting and pathetic.

[@L3onking]

A smaller KZbinr (CB2 I think) also went onto her discord server and he tried to make Blair aware that there was predation going on but he was immediately banned so that makes her false accusation even more egregious.

[@tovahwulf]

@@L3onking They're also being threatened a serve from Blair as of today.

[@SAVYWRITESBOOKS]

OMG thank you for the shoutout! i'm really excited to hear your perspective because you're always very level-headed and analytical

[@FOJO27]

Checked out your channel - you've got a new subscriber 😊🤙🏻 Happy Pride from Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦 🏳️‍🌈

[@_hellojarofdirt]

I need a Savy and Vera crossover ASAP. 🙌

[@DrewDesign]

Hi Savy! I avoided all the stories and 'takes' on this drama like the PLAGUE, right up until you did your video on it. Basically I let you tell the story because I felt I could trust you to not be salacious, and i knew you'd have a useful slant at the end, seeing as so much of this seemed to hinge on a youtuber handling their business badly. Vera is someone i would have trusted to talk me through it as well, but I saw you first :)

[@SAVYWRITESBOOKS]

@@_hellojarofdirt we did a collab video back in 2021 when we were both talking about releasing new novels! but we can absolutely do another one ...

[@bookbelle5475]

​@@DrewDesign100% Same and glad its wasn't just me

[@casualcraftman1599]

The funniest plagiarism backlash I saw was this author tried to sue Amazon for rings of power ripping off his book called Fellowship of the King only to be countersued by the Tolkien estate.

[@EmeralBookwise]

It's like these kinds of people never learned the lesson about throwing stones while living in a glass house.

[@casualcraftman1599]

@@EmeralBookwise "My goodness my glass house is sparkling delightfully in the morning sun, what a nice day to indulge in my favorite hobby of projectile mineralogy!" Ben Yahtzee Croshaw

[@Hakumeiun]

Well, I know what I'll be looking up tomorrow!

[@Seal0626]

When I saw that she was going after a _copyright lawyer_ accusing him of plagiarism, I genuinely wondered if she was having some sort of episode. With everything else that's come out since, I just... I have no words.

[@Magpiebard]

That is about the only option she may have left here soon. All her other actions have seemingly failed, might go the YT route of suddenly self-diagnosing their newest issue and blame the whole mess on stress and depression. Beyond that? No clue how she is gonna come out of this. And I've never seen someone seemingly self-destruct with such... vim. AND vigor!

[@iciajay6891]

​@@MagpiebardI have ptsd and depression. As well as many other mental illness. I would not do this bs. It's often driven by personality not mental illness. Ego etc, being up there own arse.

[@briannenurse4640]

@@iciajay6891 Yes, this! Personality, not pathology. This is way bigger than a mental illness episode.

[@cardinaleek]

​@@Magpiebardeven if she did try to claim that defense I feel like it wouldn't do much good at this point given what she did to Wonder exposing his suicide note, leveraging his mental health against him, and whatnot. You can't just do that then try to use poor mental health as an excuse (also I actually think she may have tried that in her original "apology" claiming that a lot of her bad behavior in sadmilk was due to stress. Don't quote me on that though because I haven't given her money by watching her "apology")

[@austinluther5825]

I remember snorting at that part in her "exposed" video (which was the first I heard about any of this). Blair, not only is that not plagiarism, but he's A COPYRIGHT LAWYER. Maybe approach him privately, at least?

[@Site_42]

I have been watching this as a Creator and Community Organizer, and so much of it is *so* familiar. Toxic people, backstabbery, same shit, different venue. You’re right that this is a really unique variant the way it’s lasted so long. Very interesting from a meta perspective.

[@Site_42]

Also, Iilluminaughtii peaked at 1.71 Million, so dropping down to the 1.40s is INSANE

[@Mohammedamine9.]

Huh, i didn't know the scp foundation is intrested in KZbin drama

[@coalopalatticus6964]

Didn't expect to see Sherm here. I'm hoping you and the former milk men are recovering from your experiences with toxic people

[@NankitaBR]

One of the differences is also the kind of content that she creates, which make this so incredibly hypocritical of her to act this way and not expect to get called out eventually.

[@AiLoveAidoru]

@@NankitaBR idk about anyone else, but i started getting suspicious when she started accepting sponsorship deals from companies that were also pretty sketchy. An honest person that covers the topics she does would make sure that their own sponsors weren't up to no good before signing ANY contracts.

[@Szadek23]

Blaire cultivated an audience that care about abusive business practices. So it only makes sense that they turn on her once it's revealed that is also abusive.

[@crazycatskippers8227]

Hearing an American say the word nonce is very strange as a British person. But I do appreciate hearing more people say it as it is an incredible word.

[@notlibatiusborage8645]

Does still hold a lot of anti gay associations in it though. I don't know anyone who call a woman a nonce. Censorship doesn't leave a lot of words without those implications though because the straighties have tainted most of the slang with baseless accusations

[@skarmory994]

I was one of those who watched everything. I trusted her to give me the honest facts. When Click put out his video and revealed how she was harassing him and the rest of Sad Milk with an alternate account, that's when I gave up on her. How could I trust her anymore when she did that to people she considered 'coworkers' if not friends.

[@darkshadowrule2952]

Yeah, I wasn't really following the drama after the little stupid plagiarism accusation, but when I saw one topic post a video, the guy, the goodest most wholesome guy on KZbin? I was like oh boy, somethings going on here, then I looked into it and WOOOOW

[@the_pseudo_nim]

Same. I watched every video. I even have screenshots from times she liked or replied to my comments. There is no way to trust her videos ever again when she has been proven to exhibit the same behavior she has made a career denouncing in others.

[@jamesrobbins1243]

She was attacking her friends and accusing them of horrible things via the fake account during times when they'd still play games together. She is a phony, two-faced liar.

[@Ace_Greymoore]

I was in the exact same boat. When I saw her response video I went into it expecting her to be reasonable, and so I assumed the Sad Milk drama was just emotions running a little high in the moment. Then I watched Click's video and realized that Blair acted like that regularly; it wasn't just a small fight between friends.

[@ayajade6683]

It doesn't help she aimed for an adult audience it's much easier to recover if your audience is a bunch of ipad babies who are under the TOS age

[@Hakumeiun]

Watching HBomberGuy call Blaire out for plagiarism right after she accused LegalEagle of the exact same thing, but with actual receipts, was seriously one of the high points of this decade for me

[@Hair8Metal8Karen]

It honestly never gets old.

[@danielallen4450]

Not sure what's more hilarious to me; how based this comment is, or how we're barely into the decade 😂

[@Hakumeiun]

@@danielallen4450 oh God, it's only 2023... This is the decade we find out Mr. Rogers founded a cult, isn't it

[@danielallen4450]

@@Hakumeiun it wouldn't surprise me if we did

[@blastlightstar]

hope y'all are having fun _now_

[@brianahicks4805]

Hearing about YT drama is like listening to my mom share church gossip. I don’t know these people, I don’t want to know these people, but I’m happy to drink my milkshake and let someone I like tell me all about it.

[@leyrua]

In this case, it's a _"Sad Milk"_ shake.

[@daelen.cclark]

@@leyrua Either way, it's a good milkshake.

[@allisonfisher9304]

Amen🙌🏼

[@Aster_Risk]

Human nature. We love gossip, drama, scandal especially when we aren't directly affected.

[@Caterfree10]

Same tbh

[@ToriEnglishArtsandPaws]

I follow The Click and One Topic At A Time... I used to follow Blaire too. Watching Clicks video about this made me kinda angry, OTs had me flippin' livid and Wonder's is heartbreaking. These guys seem like such sweet individuals and seeing how this has affected them is just... they didn´t deserve this. We trusted Blaire because of her content and, at least to me, that's why this is so shocking. I hope the people affected by her actions can move past this and continue their lives in peace.

[@darkshadowrule2952]

Yeah, really hard to make everyone else look like the bad guys when everyone else are the most wholesome lovely people on YT. I thought people were just talking about plagiarism crap until I got a rec for OT's video, I'm like okay, OT doesn't give a shit about that, what's going on? 😬

[@AH-vm8yo]

Wonder's was so hard to watch I'm glad he's got a loving and caring bf to make life a little easier. Hope he's doing OK and this hasn't affected his mental health too much.

[@Sugarman96]

@@AH-vm8yo from his responses to the C&D, it seems like he's actually holding up quite well. I think it helps that he not only has a supportive partner, but it seems like he's getting a ton of support from people online.

[@haloo_haybay]

Yeah, I wasn’t subscribed to her but I often watched her videos. Hearing Click and OT’s perspectives made me lose all respect for her.

[@chrisleneil]

This sounds like my reaction exactly. OT’s video hit me hard because he’s basically the awkward Queer community’s dad. (I say that as an awkward Queer old enough to be his parent) What she did to Wonder was so beyond any level of acceptability. To tell others about someone’s crisis issues is bad enough. To tell it to over a million people is reprehensible. I’m so glad that the guys managed to be understanding of how each of them were victimised in different ways, thus allowing them to regain their friendships. (Of course, OT, The Click, & Salty the Alien had remained friends throughout) I don’t do drama. I’m neurodivergent, so I was never good at it when I was in middle school (which seems the appropriate age for this level of cruelty), & I actively avoid it as an old. The idea that I would ever watch multiple videos about a situation involving KZbin creators at war with each other is something I would never have imagined. But this seems less about ‘drama’ and more about cruelty, which is something I loathe.

[@WonderChia]

My actual reaction: "oh noooo, mamma decided to jump in?" *clicks immediately* Thank you for covering this!

[@Cesaryeyo]

Not only is every drama channel making hours upon hours of content from this debacle, a lot of serious commentary channels that almost never talk about KZbin drama are addressing it, first Rebecca Watson, then Savvy Writes Books and now this channel, it's really transcending the niche.

[@WonderChia]

@@Cesaryeyo oh for sure! I think once people realized it wasn't just "drama" but that she was basically a hypocrite doing many of the things she calls out on her videos you can't really ignore it. Swoop did a video on it and even interviewed Blair's ex-boyfriend and oof! It's ugly. She's truly an awful person.

[@garnetbelial]

That Swoop video is probably the most comprehensive covering I've seen. Swoop went deeeeeep.

[@WonderChia]

@@garnetbelial she really did! Not a single stone unturned or lead not followed. She's amazing

[@alim.9801]

I'm really glad Vera made this, bc I don't follow any like drama channels and I'm not on social media so i didn't know ANY of this. Like I was listening to the Illuminaughtii podcast THIS MORNING

[@SpoonieCreates]

Idk I feel like sending cease and desist letters to people who haven’t even made videos yet counts as continuing the drama on Blair’s part

[@SAVYWRITESBOOKS]

i completely agree -- blair lost her audience because they had a different version of her in their expectations. when people set expectations LOW, it's much easier to come back from disappointing people. but in this case, it turned out blair was just NOT AT ALL the person we all thought she was

[@marocat4749]

I am glad wonder who deserves support, and gave the final blow. Personally her heinous abusive wtf , mixed with whom she usually talks about. Likely part.

[@charisma-hornum-fries]

​@@marocat4749But her ex was the nail in the coffin. She was emotionally and mentally abusive. Wonder was readily in a shitty situation and Oz too. There's so much hurt.

[@StonedHunter]

It's one thing to just be regarded as a moral person/content creator due to your actions and behavior, but Blair built that reputation for herself which I personally think also adds to the severity of the reation. She actually manipulated her audience and people do not like being manipulated.

[@FaeQueenCory]

In this day and age... Always screenshot and document _in full_ when the *first* red flag happens with someone. Cause you never know when they're going to attempt to weaponize the legal system against you when you were minding your own business.

[@JDtheBlackPhoenix]

So I stopped watching her videos nearly 2 years ago, when I noticed that when people would try to correct her on things, with facts, she would double down and say she was the one that was correct, and everyone else was wrong. I got tired of it, cause it was mostly little things, but it was a sign to me that something more problematic was going on.

[@Fade2GrayOG]

Same. Stopped watching when she discussed a topic I was familiar with and realized she was happy to do one sided research and shut down disagreement in her comments.

[@alexbruce7984]

Yeah there were many videos where she had a lot of misinformation or outright wrong info. I was raised with one of the topics of her videos so I know what that group believes. Or at least believed when I had my experience with the group. She responded to my comment with the correct info in an extremely rude way saying I had no clue what I was talking about her info is 100% right as she did her own research. She after a couple days deleted my original comment as there were many other people confirming my info was correct and them calling out other info that was wrong. She said she wasn't going to deal with all the abuse I had caused to go her way. No one was being mean in any way but once the 1 person said you should take this video down as it's full of incorrect and false info and redo the parts with the wrong info so it's accurate she got all nasty about it. That's when she deleted the whole thread about all the wrong info.

[@EmpressOfCatsup]

@@Fade2GrayOG Exactly. Her channel only seems fine when it isn't a topic you know anything about. As soon as it is something you are familiar with, you realize how one-sided and poorly supported her videos are.

[@MrTARDIS]

I actually discovered iilluminaughtii through KZbin recommendations, watched a couple of videos, really liked them and subscribed. Then I saw her latest video at the time, which was the first response video, immediately saw what was going on and un-subscribed almost immediately, aha. An incredibly messy situation that she has continually exacerbated.

[@RepubsWannaMarryKids]

I've watched her since around 2019, I've become pissed and disillusioned as her lies became obvious. My main issue/big and obvi fake one was about her struggling and being "poor".

[@devonmunn5728]

I also found her stuff interesting but i did see some videos (mind you this was a year ago) where some people were calling her out for silencing criticism so I didn't sub

[@invisigoth510]

The same. She came up in my recommendations about 3 years ago. I watched her for about 6 months & then she started some drama with another channel & I was-oh no. I don’t need this shhhh & unsubscribed. There were several channels about that time that I was watching & they got into drama in their communities & I unsubscribed to them as well (last I checked their channels are all gone now) I’m not surprised she continued drama mongering. That stuff always blows up in your face eventually

[@Cangeltibon]

I think the answer to why this is different is because her success came from Left (not liberal) viewers. The very people who’d be turned off of authoritarians and bad bosses and the very type of people who won’t be forgiving or come back after an apology. Had her audiences been centrist, her tactics of ignoring the problem would have probably worked. 🤷🏾‍♀️

[@CouncilofGeeks]

That's an interesting aspect, and it may have been a factor. The center and the right (broadly speaking) tend to not really care so much as long as the person is still saying what they want to hear. It's kind of another layer to what I was talking about with the details clashing with her persona, as that persona was geared toward an audience that was always going to be less forgiving.

[@FallenGemini]

But Blair seems to have been catering to the liberal left by being on the Leftist Mafia and sprinkling her "leftist" views in her videos.

[@RepubsWannaMarryKids]

I thought it was so huge cause of the sheer hypocrisy of her channel subjects. She portrays herself as a seeker of justice and fairness and also as a struggling poor person when she was wealthy and using her employees.

[@FallenGemini]

​@@RepubsWannaMarryKidsit was definitely that. Blair painted herself as a justice warrior who will fight for the little guy and lives in a liberal city. It was recently discovered that she is the completely opposite of who she makes out herself to be - a corporate lady who used to make fun of social justice warriors, living in a highly conservative city.

[@RepubsWannaMarryKids]

@@FallenGemini oh I realized that a long time ago. I realized she was not anything near poor let alone struggling... as someone living well below poverty I unsubbed and stopped watching unless with adblock. (I also wondered well what else is she lying about. I was a fan in 2019? By 2022 I was not.)

[@clarinetangel99]

Yeah, I was one of the people who ended up unsubscribing from illuminaughtii (albeit later than most). It was a slow decision, but after carefully doing research, I realized that I had to get out of that community. And seeing you do a video on this whole mess makes me feel a lot better about that decision.

[@eoghanfeighery7383]

Yeah I honestly did watch a few of her videos but just fell out of favour and that was before all of this drama happened. Also if you accuse a channel or someone for plagarism and you have no evidence and have plagarised in your own work, you don't have much of a case on your hands.

[@KitsuneRokaku]

I did the same. It took me some time because I thought she'd eat some humble pie and genuinely apologize. Then everything snowballed. I just couldn't support her after everything she has done.

[@darkshadowrule2952]

@@KitsuneRokaku for real, and if at any point she had really come forward with an honest apology instead of doubling down on all of her past behaviors, I would have been understanding to a degree. I was kind of expecting she would, but then she started throwing around legal threats at whistle blowers! Oh lord! No, no, no, I noped out of that

[@FallenGemini]

I too unsubbed from Iilluminaughtii's channel when Wonderstruck Guy and The Clicknshowed receipts. I think over 300k subscribers unsubbed.

[@charisma-hornum-fries]

Before The Leftist Mafia I had no idea who she was. There are many people doing what she does and though I liked her presentations and style I have not missed her. The thing is that even at 1.5 million subs, it's not a lot on a global scale. A creators credibility is everything. Someone better is out there.

[@HereticReborn]

I subscribe to One Topic as well having seen them on Jammidodger and like his meme reactions. Seeing OT breakdown almost in tears in his response to this was hard to watch. Blair revealing someone’s mental issues and just her response overall was awful. Thanks Vera for covering this.

[@Stargazer_Ley]

OT is great. He just did a vid celebrating raising money for Trevor Project.

[@artikulv731]

Yeah, watching OT and Click nearly break down ON RECORDING was really hard to watch, and I trust both of them far more then I ever trusted Blaire.

[@GrifoStelle]

Darkly Unremarkable

[@thelouisemonarchy5551]

I hadn't watched Blair's videos consistently for a while but all of this mess happened and it was a easy decision to unfollow and unsubscribe real fast. I really think that if she had kept her mouth shut things would not have escalated this much, she stared drama for no reason and proceeded to acuse people left and right when someone pointed out it was stupid, really bad move, she dug her own grave here.

[@TheRealSparkplugTheFox]

I think this is a case of Blair was used to throwing her weight around and bullying her detractors into silence. She's done it before with her ex boyfriend who came out against her 4 years ago and won that one because as others have come out and say, they're usually too scared of her to do anything in defense because she's so extremely hostile and cut throat that she's used to the other person backing down. Blair is used to her bluffs working because she's often enough put in the ground work to under cut, demine and force others into a position to where they can't fight back without severe backlash whether legally or socially. She's heavily abusive and that's why she's gotten away with it for so long. She's actually done this sort of bluffing before and it's worked against CruelWorldHappyMind. She bluffed that she would do a slam stream when CruelWorld showed the actual DM's debunking Blair's BS. Blair knew she had been caught out and intimidated her into silence and got away with it. This is a pattern with her, she expected that once she put out her hit piece with the stuff she kept in her back pocket that the other milk men like Click would have no choice but to bow down cuz she got the jump on him and expected everyone else to stay quiet or they were next. She laid the ground work via her ult account, she expected it to work. Her whole video came off to me as super manipulative and I had to stop about 14 or so minutes in because I was bullshitted out. Watching Click's video I was only proven correct. Blair is a bully who has been banking on her size and word to have her audience trust her and not actually watch the other sides argument. She banked on the other side remaining silence and lost, now she's trying to intimidate them with C&D's and no one is buying it as she makes everything actively worse for her as she's pissing more people off.

[@TheRealSparkplugTheFox]

@@NevahLose So far she did it to Wander, Oz and Oz's dad. Oh and she threatened her ex as well.

[@francisnopantses1108]

Bully describes her in one word. Nasty bully in two.

[@SanityVideo]

The channels who were talking about her are some of the least dramatic and apparently kindest channels on KZbin and they'd left her alone for years in spite of what happened in the past. She would have been fine if she didn't double down on backstabbing the most wholesome people.

[@chrisleneil]

Yep! The Click is our wonderful chaos goblin, & OT is the kind, supportive person we all wish we had in our lives whilst growing up Don’t mess with those who are there for us, the Queer dorks

[@Aster_Risk]

​@@chrisleneilSeriously. Those two really seem to make a lot of particularly younger LGBTQ+ folks feel safe, so it sucks to see them attacked.

[@alphaomega7191]

@@chrisleneil - Dont know if you noticed but Damien turned up in Clicks most recent live chat and Click mentioned he's been in contact with all the old Sad Milk guys which he mentioned was one of the upsides of this horrible situation. He also mentioned he likes Oz's style of presentation and hopes he gets back into making more videos. Combined with OT's showing of the snowball fight and Salty being in OT's video shows that those 6 guys seem to be trying to support each other through this.

[@chrisleneil]

@@alphaomega7191 yeah - I always loved seeing Salty on OT’s vids, but now I have officially subbed to him, Wonder, & Oz. Here’s hoping that iilluminaughtii sees the support they have, & takes a look at her own behaviour. Because the best way forward for her could be self-examination. Sincerely. I’m ND, & I find that going back over my own actions/attitudes in conflicts allows me to acknowledge my own failures. Sometimes I have been the problem. But then you must change what you are doing so that you are less likely to continue acting in that way. Hope she can find that headspace.

[@alphaomega7191]

@@chrisleneil Well said.

[@BrigitteEmpire]

I can’t imagine attacking the community even if you thought they were plagiarising you, I’d not have survived transitioning to KZbin videos without the support of other creators

[@meeomelovescookiesandhisto459]

It's often people who get their success semi-dishonestly on the back of others' work that are the most paranoid and defensive over their own stuff because they think everyone is like them.

[@mimmikibilly]

​@@meeomelovescookiesandhisto459 Or they've been hurt more than one time and do that as a defense mechanism

[@janepearce5382]

I gave up on Blair just after the Cruel World Happy Minds mess. That whole thing about not realising there was an anti mlm community was just weird. Never really thought about it being more than just her ego, but boy was I wrong. Allegations of harbouring pdfiles can ruin peoples lives. And she can only have done that thinking he could not prove her wrong. Otherwise, what's the point! How much did she hate that guy and for what leaving a collaboration channel!! And then there's what she did to wonder! That's why this has taken so long to go away, she has a pattern of behaviour and it's getting worse and no-one it seems can stop her except her audience!!!

[@lk-l2818]

Same

[@bellycurious]

I didn't like the way she talked about Madison in that podcast. She gave me mean girl vibes. And I stopped watching her, it was a pity because I really enjoyed her content.

[@beks1887]

Something that was hard for to me learn is that she lives in Colorado Springs... Where the Club Q shooting happened... As a member of the queer community there, it was insulting to learn she posed as an ally but wasn't willing to actually be there for the community. We are still hurting and Pride this year was a celebration of life and a protest against hate... And yet she is willing to make money pretending to be our ally... It's a slap to the face as a former fan Edit: Rephrasing a bit

[@StonedHunter]

Swoop did a really good breakdown for anyone who wants more of details, she also was able to talk to the ex directly. The things she said about those guys are honestly just heinous and I wonder if at least The Click could take her to court given she did intentionally lie about them with the seemingly clear purpose of trying to ruin their reputations. Loved to hear your take on all this.

[@sharonoddlyenough]

Swoop's video is the most comprehensive video I've seen on this situation to date.

[@philospher77]

The Click is definitely the one with the best grounds for a defamation suit, if he were willing to get into an international lawsuit that could drag on for years. Flip side, that may also be why Click felt comfortable doing the Twitter thread that started the ball rolling. Blair is unlikely to actually pursue an international lawsuit as well.

[@WinVisten]

The Click is Swedish and still resides in Sweden, Blair is an American still residing in the US. International court cases are very difficult to do, and usually get thrown out instantly, especially if the incident involved happened over the internet.

[@orbitmouf]

@@sharonoddlyenoughyes it is! Even though SWOOP'S content generally irritates me, I found her video on this topic very well done. (Not a backhanded compliment, her personality doesnt vibe for me and her content/brand is pretty much her personality)

[@sharonoddlyenough]

@@orbitmouf I don't follow drama with the exception that this involves my communities, so I get it. I saw several mentions of Swoop's video before I checked it out.

[@kennashey]

What made me wary of iiluminaughtii was a video that I saw on her channel that was basically the same as a streamed series on a streaming site. It was word for word, where it differed, was that she used photos instead of video footage, but the commentators (the ones from the streaming service) were the same. I was like, oh so they're actors! I looked it up and found out that nope, the real people did interviews for the streaming service and not for her video. This is allegedly by the way. I've no proof, and I cannot now find the video in my YT history, nor on her channel either. It was after that I stopped watching her. I think what made it worse for her, was the fact that she showed someone's suicide note. That is not nice, nor prudent. She outed a person's mental health crisis to over a million subscribers. That's just wrong!

[@alison4dice]

He doesn’t need to. She’s made things so much worse on herself.

[@AnnekeOosterink]

I'm also wondering if it isn't illegal for an employer to share the details of someone's medical history (the state of their mental health, which medical professional they're seeing). I looked it up to be sure, and yes, it is hella illegal. She literally broke the law.

[@alison4dice]

@@AnnekeOosterink Wow, amidst all the other drama, that never even occurred to me. All the more shameful on her part.

[@kennashey]

Did not think that of HIPPA, and yes it it illegal under that law. So, iiluminaughtii could face jail time, and fines up to $250k. Good job to remind us of that! :)

[@GrumpyOldFart2]

@@kennasheyIt’s not a violation of HIPAA unless you are the practicing medical professional/facility releasing the information, but there are several other federal laws in place that make certain revelations illegal.

[@3v1l73ddy]

I think one of the nails was how fresh in people's minds Creepshow Art still is and how Iiluminaughtii's actions mirror Creep's. Her audience is not the kind of audience to ignore that kind of deceit, abuse and manipulation.

[@Annickicki]

I feel like there are 2 main things that have made the backlash so enduring. The one is the hypocracy, as you pointed out, that we found out she was doing the very things behind the scenes that she claimed to be against on our screens. The other thing was her weaponising Wonder's mental health against him. A large chunk of her audience actually was very socially conscious, the kind of people who cared about not supporting bad businesses and not enabling bad behaviour. So we were justifiably horrified when we heard what she did to him. Never mind how casually she did it. Frankly, I'm a little surprised that she did not understand the type of audience she cultivated, especially since her content was so laser targeted.

[@otakubullfrog1665]

Anybody who produces a lot of material without writing it all personally and accuses somebody else of plagiarism is playing a very dangerous game because they might be guilty of the same offense without even being aware of it.

[@ChumleyNuffington]

Pretty sure I've seen news channels here in the UK do that text highlighty thing since I was a kid. Big up anyone old enough to remember getting home from school only to find newsround on CBBC and having to wait for the cartoons to start. This is literally all I have to add to this, another enjoyable video. Love and stuff.

[@wendyheatherwood]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the BBC have been using both the highlighted text and torn paper effect for multiple programs since at least the 90s.

[@youtubeuserremainsanonymou9022]

Yes it is primarily associated with news whether indie or mainstream.

[@KleioChronicles]

I was so confused about that bit. I’ve seen the text highlight thing so many many times in news segments because it’s a clear way to show a quote. It’s not new, nevermind the idea of trademarking an editing technique itself. It would be like trademarking a fade transition.

[@j-skullz]

Newsround was always after the cartoons when I watched CBBC maybe that was later (2000s) haha, I remember because that was my cue to turn it off and watch something else/play video games lol. Anyway CBBC was the shit back in the day, Tracy Beaker and Mona the Vampire mate!!

[@ChumleyNuffington]

@@j-skullz actually now youve said that I remember them being G after the good stuff now.. You just hit me with a nostalgia wave 😂😂

[@brandelynnefreleng7597]

As a huge try guys fan- I totally agree with your Ned analysis. The other guys even said publicly “we were acutely aware of how this was contrary to [Ned’s] image”. I think he would have been fired for the legal implications once it was made public, but his “wife guy” image was part of what made it so public so quickly. Initially, we didn’t know it was an employee. Just that he was kissing a girl in public who clearly was not his wife.

[@elrhunadan]

thanks for covering this, I'm not online as much and I suddenly started getting flooded with video take downs about a youtuber I consistently watched. From my position the whole thing looked a lot like what happened to Lindsay Ellis and I wasn't having it. I can see she truly seems to have done everything people claim she did (Illuminaughtii, not Lindsay) but there's still a certain viciousness in her comment section that puts me on alert. Stuff like "I can't wait for this b**** to crash and burn" does not fly over my head and there needs to be some level of criticism with how female creators aren't cancelled in the same way as their male counterparts

[@CouncilofGeeks]

Yeah there’s a reason I haven’t ventured into the comments of her videos since the fall out.

[@juls_krsslr7908]

100% agree

[@Aster_Risk]

I absolutely don't like her, yet I refuse to go and leave those kinds of comments and contribute to the problem you mentioned here.

[@magnus1383]

Yeah, same. It made me feel disgusted at these people. I also still don't appreciate the way this happened. Ex-friends piling on the moment there was blood in the water was what it initially looked like, and it was a bad look, and I still have a bad taste in my mouth about it. My comfort with all of them but One Topic is gone.

[@francisnopantses1108]

That's not true, though-- there was some very vicious rhetoric during the James Charles cancelation drama. The rhetoric then escalated when some viewers that canceled him started to wander back to the channel. I don't watch beauty KZbin but I've watched the drama from afar while cringing because the fandom legit scares me.

[@MakarMeCrazy]

Anyone else now worried about that pupper she adopted & made a huge deal about adopting? Sheesh

[@Rexdrinkredbull]

Considering she (allegedly) has a problem with keeping her house clean and said dog has a condition that makes him try to eat inedible things, it's a legit concern.

[@sparklefulpaladin]

As someone who used to watch a fair number of Blair's videos, seeing all the drama makes me feel both sad and angry. I really enjoy the style of a video essay (especially one that comes in podcast form or one where the video isn't necessary to the understanding) and I find the cadence and tone of her voice easy to listen to, especially when trying to sleep. As always, thank you for a wonderful video. I always find your take on things refreshing and very level-headed. I look forward to the next time there is a Council! Stay safe and stay awesome and happy Pride month~

[@auberginebear]

I found her channel during 2019 (specifically her Autism $peaks videos) and her steady output helped me through the pandemic, but when this first broke, I found her claims absurd and her response to the former Sad Milk crew's Twitter threads concerning, especially her focus on Wonder, but after seeing the Click's counter response, I realized that she was showing all the same red flags my abusive ex boyfriend had, and seeing such a popular KZbinr use DARVO tactics so freely seriously affected me because it almost got me again. I'm still really shaken by that.

[@DrawciaGleam02]

Hope you're recovering well!

[@Freak80MC]

This video is a perfect representation of why I love watching you. I feel like you're a voice of reason on a platform which can be pretty unreasonable at times.

[@thegoddessofbread6535]

This is completely off topic to the video, but I wanna throw in some positivity. I think you're absolutely fabulous and love your hair, makeup, nails, style, all of it. I've had a pretty rough week, and I'm so happy to discover yet another new creator that's so well articulated and thorough. Subbed and definitely coming back for more!

[@Hakumeiun]

Confirmed. Those nails and that hair... I could barely take my eyes (and envy) off either

[@j.artiste8596]

Same. I'm caught myself looking at the fashion statements, but didn't say anything. I thought it would come across as shallow. But she looks fabulous and has a fantastic energy 😁

[@dshe8637]

​@@j.artiste8596he

[@goblin_corpse]

thank you for covering this, as someone who's gone through their share of mental health issue i can't imagine how it must feel to have those issues on blast. to share something as vulnerable as a s-note is unspeakably vindictive and i cannot fathom being that mad at anyone.

[@alison4dice]

I hope you’ve found some help & support. You’re not alone.

[@dayflowerj.3916]

She wanted to build a corporate town too! She wanted to control every aspect of her employee's (Wonder) life! Not to mention the BS she pulled with the car! She repo'd it, did NOT return Wonder's property (worth thousands of dollars) but threw it away!

[@coughingparsnip]

It seems like basically accusing someone of stealing the idea of highlighting text - which seems utterly bizarre

[@gamergirl24]

I think another aspect of why things are going so much worse for iilluminaughtii than for a lot of other creators caught in controversies is that informative content requires a certain of level of trust in the person presenting the information and Blaire shattered that trust. Why would a person want to get information about various corporations and whatnot when the creator presenting that information is proven to be a liar? How can we believe anything she says about anything now? There will always be that kernel of doubt about if she is lying or slanting the truth to imply things that aren't true. There are plenty of other channels covering the same topics that haven't compromised that trust and I think a lot of people who were watching Blaire's content are going to migrate to those other channels.

[@StopChangingMyNameYoutube1]

I really wonder what the Legal Eagle team must think about all this. Especially the one who sent the message. I could just imagine them happily sending it and then watching with growing fascination and horror as the channel proceeded to implode in a blaze of dramatic glory. "I...I just wanted to know how you did this editing trick, why is everything on fire?"

[@ormitomimus]

honestly, going after a lawyer in the first place was unbelievably stupid

[@bobemmerson1580]

She exposed herself to be a Grifter, someone who does not believe in the views they publicly espouse, often for personal gain. A fair number of people have been accused of this, but normally they can sweep it under the rug as being them evolving their politics over time, or the evidence being largely circumstantial. In a context of a para-social relationship this is deeply damning.

[@kaworunagisa4009]

As someone who watched iilluminaughtii for a while (never subscribed to her though, lol) and has been watching The Click and One Topic At A Time for a few years, I've been casually following this mess since the beginning. And after the initial reaction to Blair's toxicity, I just got a proverbial popcorn because it's rare to see her particular kind of toxic get this kind of karma. Also, Clicky-Wicky is a perfect watch when you're in the mood for a highly chaotic, unhinged but weirdly wholesome ally. Highly recommend 😁

[@Courdorygirl]

I'm the youtube watcher (my partner very passively) and we've both been keeping up casually like you. We boht love Clicky-Wicky and I was a fan of Illumi until her hit piece on Mr. Beast (who I'm a huge fan of). Until this drama, I didn't even know the two knew each other, but I had no reason to not believe Click or OT's twitter threads. The part of his video where editing Click shows up is heart wrenching.

[@AlwaysUp-uf9dl]

I'm very aware that I'm biased, but as soon as I heard that Blair went Click and OT, I knew she was in the wrong. (I was subscribed to all three for years. Now I'm with only two.) The world would be a darker place without OneTopic.

[@dfw-k6z]

Perhaps a more apt analogy: imagine Ned (try guy) accused somebody of being a cheater, before getting exposed. Imagine Elen getting accused of having a toxic workplace, her responding by accusing her employees of being shitty (and exposing a bunch of their personal details), her accusations turning out to be false, and her just continuing as if nothing happened. Personal brand aside, Ned’s marriage is between him and his wife. My only issue with his scandal is that it was with an employee, which is a line that should not be crossed. Blair’s abuse affected far more people, and it comes across as both petty and wildly disproportionate to whatever she had against the other person. I’d consider giving Ned and Ellen a second chance 100 times more easily than Blair.

[@karenholmes6565]

The thing that sunk Blair's content for me was the attack on Wonderstruck. He was so young and she seemingly preyed on him. I am a mommy by nature. I cannot fathom weaponizing the mental health of a teenager. I didn't take anyone's word for anything when it came to the past of their collaborations. I didn't need to because Blair is the one that talked about her past employee's desperate situation. There is no universe where it was called for her to talk about those things. So she sunk herself.

[@KitsuneRokaku]

She would've avoided this if she just privately apologized to Legal Eagle and moved on. She didn't have to call out her former coworkers to make them look bad and she sure as Hell shouldn't have share someone's s×××××e not to make herself the victim.

[@philospher77]

Hi! My only slight correction here is that public accusations require public apologies. But yes, stopping after that would have been the smart choice.

[@valolafson6035]

Yeah. Apologizing to Legal Eagle, and then moving on, would have been her best move. Her video on the situation is what gave it movement.

[@cosmichal9548]

I’m SO happy you’re covering this because I’ve had a hard time finding a creator I trust talking about this (I’m just not familiar with anyone involved beyond Illuminaughti and I didn’t want to take her word at face value)

[@rubberlover666]

I’ve sort of been following this too because just when I think we’ve hit the bottom, it gets worse and weirder?! This is almost Andy Kaufman levels of surreal schadenfreude. To go from an upstanding, responsible leftist to an unhinged corporate boss - you can’t make this stuff up. I wish all the best for the people Blair hurt and can’t say her downfall isn’t deserved.

[@Annaonesun]

I want to add, as someone who has been/is a fan of several of the creators that got dragged into this, there are at least two more layers as to why this is hitting iilluminaughtii as hard as it is. I used to watch iilluminaughtii's videos quite a lot a couple of years ago, but I stopped because of some of the questionable things she did back then. This isn't the first time she's been accused of plagiarism and she didn't handle the situation back then very well, so she kind of already was on thin ice with a lot of people who still watched her. This was definitely the last straw (and what a big, horribly manipulating and emotionally abusive straw it turned out to be) for many viewers who have been around for a while and/or were aware of her previous offences. Secondly, I think that it's because of who the people speaking up against her are, it's making it stick so much more. The Click, One Topic at a time, OZmedia and Wonderstruck guy (the ones that have gotten the most caught up in this whole thing) are known for their personalities. They mostly do Reddit videos and similar content, but they add to it with their own stories and personalities, and they're generally known for being wholesome, or at least a safe space for many people. While iilluminaughtii is known for (mostly) quality content, she isn't really someone you go to because of who she is as a person. That made it so much easier to listen to and believe the ones speaking up against her, as many viewers, even the ones still actively watching her content, don't have a particularly strong parasocial relationship with her through her videos alone. Now, add to that, because of their previous collaborations through sad milk, and some of their continued public friendships as well as similar content, a lot of people, me included, watch several of their channels, making their fandoms very intertwined, while iilluminaughtii stands out as different in the group as her content isn't the same and her viewerbase isn't quite as intertwined with the others. Now, I might be biased as I already had issues with her, but I believe iilluminaughtii would have been hit pretty hard by all this even if the others didn't bring as solid evidence as they did and she hadn't broken her viewers trust so badly because of these reasons. It definitely wouldn't have become as big of a storm as it has if this didn't contradict everything she painted herself out to be to this degree, but I think she still would have had a very hard time.

[@SplotchTheCatThing]

That initial incident does sound a lot like if a singer accused another band of "taking their sound" because the other band's guitarist bought the same distortion pedal. In that it makes me question how well...erm ... Blaire, I think you said -- makes me question how well she actually understands the jobs she's hiring people to do. It's not that there aren't situations where that's... completely fine, but I think being in charge of a small business, especially one that you are the one and only face of and the only person that anyone outside of it will try to hold accountable, it probably pays to be a little more hands-on, to at least know where things are coming from and the basics of how they're getting from there to you. Otherwise... well, otherwise you end up with situations like your writer giving you a line and you not realizing it's a verbatim quote from somebody else's documentary. If the organization's not big enough to have people for fact-checks and proofreads and once-overs and "second pairs of eyes" -- well, as the one in charge, if that doesn't happen, you were the one in charge of it not happening. If that makes any sense.

[@krose6451]

That necklace with that shirt! It's too perfect. I kept getting genuinely distracted by how much I love that necklace with that shirt! ❤ my tired brain is too weak not to just focus on this oddly satisfying fit of the necklace pointing down into the similar angle of the staps. Im sorry I am not leaving a more meaningful comment. The work that went into explain this deserves better, but my brain is stuck in this groove.

[@SarahJHug]

I think you’re absolutely right in that this was different because she turned out to be different than what her audience expected. I think there is also another piece to this on the audience side to things. Because Blair made content about manipulative tactics and predatory organizations, and basically taught people how to spot those things, her audience was equipped to spot it pretty much immediately when she started doing it out in the open. I think that’s a pretty unique circumstance compared to other scandals of this type. The manipulation was extremely obvious since she always pointing it out in other people.

[@birtarb07]

Blair and Shannon (creepshowart) can start their own little toxic-oh-poor-me support group

[@R.senals_Arsenal]

Funny thing was I had JUST found Illuminaughtii like a week before this whole thing started. She was on the Leftist Mafia that I'd started watching/not watching while working from home. And then she Vanished from there suddenly, so I dug into why... Yeah, she screwed up by feeding her opposition content, giving your opponents fuel is never a good strategy. The Cease & Desist was stupid. Ironically had her lawyer been part of the Eagle team, that might not have happened! 😅As for Oz not posting anything yet, that is sort of true, but also sort of not, he was in the video Wonder made as a witness. So I felt like an outsider having just discovered her, not knowing Click or Wonder, so I watched the vids going back and forth a few weeks ago... There are holes in their stories too, just not big enough to drive a disbelieving truck through them. I think if they are lying at all, it is via Omission. Some of the stories skip details that are probably pretty important, BUT it is a lot of everyone independently against one person, so I'm inclined to go with the majority on who was primarily in the wrong. It is funny to me, the picture they paint of Blair is a lot like someone I know, in my family, and I think she's probably oblivious to some extent of how her antics translate to other people. Some people only hear what they think they sound like, not what everyone else hears. It's like writing a book, putting it in a drawer for a year, and then reading it and it sounds like someone else wrote it, not you. The ONLY way she cauterizes and moves forward I think is to do something outside of the box. If it were me and all the smart options were yielding no fruit, I'd probably think of closing down, but before I did I'd make one last hail mary. I think she should do a video like she does for all these other companies, about herself. Have her staff do a hit piece on her w/out possible reprisal And be Honest. Totally. And have the conclusion of it be her doing something to fix the mistakes made in some way. Going to therapy. Apologizing properly for wrongs, etc. etc. Then take a month off afterward to see what the response is, and either closing down or going on from there.

[@RoseThePhoenix]

I enjoyed a lot of her videos, but there were some of them that struck me as a bit hypocritical (like having a prominent union busting company as a sponsor on "corporate casket" videos instead of, like, exposing them as well, and mainly talking about one company's clothes being kind of "slutty" instead of, I dunno, their business practices.) So I wondered about her integrity and stopped watching as much so the algorithm just sort of stopped suggesting them. I had no idea how right i would end up being, dang.

[@francisnopantses1108]

Every once in a while she would say something in a video that made me go o_0 and she also took a judgmental stance. Now that feels good when you're talking about MLMs but it was also a red flag for me. Because I've found over time that judgmental circle jerks tend to dissolve into narcissism and groupthink over time. But damn, her being a psychopathic domestic abuser was not on my bingo card. I feel so bad for anyone who was close to her.

[@skydreamer4246]

I would definitely recommend the Click and One Topic at a Time, they are excellent channels who are excellent allies to the lgbtqia+ community

[@insideAdirtyMind]

Well The Click made his video, because blair constantly tried to make him look like a P., even with false accounts and tried to go after his channel this way. He had to clear his name and explain what was going on. I think he really let it go for such a long time, until he finally said something. He needed to say something, because she would have never stopped.

[@zaxxers]

This is such a catch 22 for me. On one hand I feel like you not talking about this kind of stuff gives you a really good perspective on all this. But also I could listen to you recap all this all day

[@fimbles4211]

Hearing an American say the word "nonce" made me feel very strange

[@wendyheatherwood]

Fingers crossed KZbin's filters are too American to pick up on our Bri'ish slang.

[@CouncilofGeeks]

That’s my hope.

[@meaganbailey5672]

That's a brilliant insight into WHY some scandals erupt and others don't. I hadn't considered it, but it makes perfect sense. I only began hearing about this stuff when One Topic made his video about it. He's generally a very positive guy, and I go to his channel for wholesome or uplifting videos. He was almost crying by the end of his video about iilluminaughtii, and that drove me to dive deeper into this whole mess. And...it's quite a lot Finally...if one of my students said "I may not have made it clear enough I was quoting that person", my response would be "Cute, but still plagiarism" and give 'em a zero on their assignment

[@hiddenechoes]

This is great. I first watched Illuminaughtii when I was leaving a icky group I'd been born into that she did some videos on, the portrayal of those in particular were very accurate to what I saw. Seeing the inconsistency in her character put me off her, but... All in all I find myself very amused at this point. Glad you jumped in. 😁 It was really odd to continue watching the deep dives on her behaviour and how they lined up with leader behaviour in the group I left.

[@PanTastique]

I lowkey have a feeling that a lot of folks already held a lowkey level of contempt for her that finally cemented itself as justified with this drama, and it's only gotten stronger beyond that.

[@SEAZNDragon]

I don't think you're far off. I remember last year seeing people complaining about video accuracy in the comments but I brushed it off not either due to not knowing a lot about the subjects or finding the complaints petty. Then she did a video on a doctor faking results for an Alzheimer's cure that was so bad I thought it was a draft mistakenly uploaded. First, she kept stumbling over the name of a brain protein (understandable) but would apologize for not being a neurologist multiple times in the intro. And while a medical intro was needed I felt a quick quote from WebMD would have suffice. The fraud was pretty straightforward as the doctor photoshopped lab results by removing the negative results. Blair literally said it was photoshop, the results shown, and she says she can't make out the photoshop. But the cherry on top for some was Blair tearing into a leading Alzheimer's theory due to the doctor's fraud only to say it was still a standing theory. I knew she had a team and wonder who wrote the script? Who was editing? Did anyone try to explain to Blair the cliff notes science or insisted the video be rerecorded due to the stumbles?

[@catherinev.1423]

This is one of the best breakdowns I've watched on this so far. You've really explained the impact well. Thanks.

[@tsuritsa3105]

I used to watch Blair's Corporate Casket, but when I heard the allegations regarding how she has treated people, I just couldn't. She's not someone who can claim she doesn't know that she should treat people decently. Not with the videos she's put out on her channel. As someone with mental illness, I can't even imagine someone stepping out to disclose my struggles without my permission. It's completely improper. I can't excuse it.

[@user-tk3ou5ru1n]

I used to watch her content to fall asleep back when I was not aware of how she treats people. It never fails to suprise me how people act so selfishly towards others and get then offended at the consiquences of their actions

[@DwarfDragonwulf]

If you're looking for something to fall asleep to now... I like Mark Deck (the Click) singing Sleepless Lullaby on repeat (if you use a computer and right click on the video, a menu comes up, the first on the menu is loop, click that, a tick will appear, the song will continue to repeat until you stop it... I do not know how to do this on a phone.) And if you are worried about data usage, it will load once and continue to play, you can even turn your internet off once it's loaded once. It will continue to play until it is stopped.

[@MikiaStorm]

I was supporting her and planning to sponsor some of her videos when my upcoming novel is set to be released to advertise, but as soon as she put out that video attacking everybody I pulled my support and won't be advertising with her now.

[@eldrichnemo9312]

Your choosing to share your perspective on this whole debacle is so unexpected and that alone tells me just how impactful this incident is. Also thank you for talking about this respectfully. There's some pretty nasty and even triggering elements to the stories some people are telling but you explained the situation in an understandable way without bringing up the ugly details.

[@ChelsBreeze]

The whole reason Ned got canned was not that he was the "wife guy", it is because legally the company (Try Guys) could have been in a ton of legal troubles due to state laws that are in place in Cali. He was an owner having sexual affairs with an employee without knowledge or consent from the other owners. Had the employee wanted to sue for sexual harassment, she was within her rights to do so. That is the reason they got rid of him, it wasn't to save their image at all, it was to do the right and legal thing.

[@Dave102693]

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes

[@KyleAButler]

If only that editor had known what trouble an innocent question about after effects plugins would cause.

[@potato9147]

the fact that this could’ve been over with a simple “hey that was a misunderstanding, i’m sorry!!” tweet…but 2 months later and no end in sight.

[@CrisSelene]

I watched some of her videos before this all blew up because the topics seemed interesting (at the time I didn't know who she was). One thing that always struck me about her videos was that when she got all up in arms against something or someone that anger always seemed genuine to me. She could present her videos in an objective way, but it seems that her anger is always boiling under the surface threatening to burst.

[@dandelion_16]

0:08 surprised to see you cover this, made me chuckle to learn the reason is the irony of it lol. Maybe that's the right approach to drama.

[@maracaegrizzley8734]

I know it's a distraction, but I just realized that you have Bunbun behind you! With his switchblade! I hadn't thought about him in AGES! Gave you a sub and a thumbsup 'cause the video's good and you made some interesting points. I guess the thing we can all learn from this is to just not project a personality that is *wildly* different from our own. People can accept just about anything if it scans as being "in character".

[@Faeryunknow]

I stayed at first, no idea what the big issue was. Didn't watch the full "iilluminaughtii exposed" video, as the first part is only about stupid impulsivity and that kind of backlash on something I did or said without thinking happens a looooot to me in real life. So, yeah, no big deal... Then the algorythm recommended me more and more videos from more and more people about all that (thanks, I guess???) and I finally gave in to what I thought at first was "unhealthy drama curiosity". But then I discovered all the stuff that she accused the Click and Wonder and OT and others of and the reality check was hard. The way she twisted the narratives to make it sound like Click was condoning horrendous behaviour, or like Wonder was an ungrateful a-hole... Full on liar. The biggest sin for me was sharing so much personal and sensitive stuff about Wonder, and using it against him, making herself look good. I cried from start to finish at Wonder's video reply. That was the nail in the coffin. (Also, some analysis from deep dive KZbinrs about a lack of honesty and work on some of her videos, as with comparing Temu with shein... didn't help with her credibility) Still feel bad for her. A lot of pity. Even if you did something bad, being accused again and again and again from all the corners of the internet can be devastating too. I hope she gets help (not legal help, that she should absolutely stop)

[@QuicksilverFox85]

If she *is* botting to try and bump her subscriptions back up that would be rich considering she accused others (Rslash in particular) of doing just that.

[@dayflowerj.3916]

Title of Swoop's video is The END of iilluminaughtii : She Has ALWAYS Been This Way | The Lies Everyone Missed in the Downfall

[@paulrhome6164]

I'm picturing her contacting Legal Eagle for advice, and being told that their defense style is copyrighted.

[@lanfae9353]

Her biggest mistake was attacking The Click. I've been an Illuminaughtii fan since back in her Reddit days with Sad Milk. I actually found that channel through One Topic and The Click, and then KZbin recommended her videos to me, and then I stuck with her through the pivot to business journalism. I've also continued to watch OT and Click. I think if she hadn't tried to attack Click with honestly a very flimsy and confusing story, she wouldn't have turned that old fanbase against her, and the other Sad Milk boys wouldn't have had a reason to expose her

[@heymer4274]

First video of yours I've seen, thanks to the algorithm for pushing your video my way! Engaging and interesting commentary on the drama. Absolutely obsessed with your glasses.

[@knitcrochettiger361]

i wow, i've been subscribed to Legal Eagle for more than 5 years now....he's going to chew Illuminaughti up

[@Syntiumed]

Thanks for this, I was a subscriber of hers for a few years and it's all mindblowing. I'v seen some videos saying that she wasn't who she claimed to be so for me this wasn't totally out of left field , but the way it all transpired blows my mind. It'd be funny if LegalEagle made a video breaking down her C&D attempts as well as any legal ramifications that might be on the horizon.

[@Dunebat]

Never thought I'd see Blair's name mentioned in the same breath as Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, but that's the world we live in. Also: I just now noticed the Bun-Bun plushie on your shelf, and I love you for that.

[@DarthNasere]

Omg I follow you on TikTok and I had no idea you had a KZbin! I’m so glad to find out you have long form content! Can’t wait to see more!

[@crimson1194]

sees title: GOOD Also im gonna look for Tomberry plushies now, ur little guy is mesmerising me

[@jassek7661]

The iilluminaughtii situation always reminds me of the Creepshow art situation, even if they are a bit different. Both kinds of hit me as hard but creepshows probably hit a bit harder for me. Both tried to put on this personality of good, nice, honest and trustworthy. But when everything comes out about how they actually are, it contrasts with the image they try to put up. I doubt any of them will be able to bounce back from this. But I kind of wish they started a podcast or channel together, just because of how similar they are but also because I would love to see the shitshow it would probably be.

[@freddyfaerie3499]

She has a channel built on "morality" if your whole brand is calling out bad people and you show yourself to be that bad person it'll hit harder

[@st.anselmsfire3547]

This has been kind of weird to see. The consequences to her channel reminded me of what happened to ProJared when he was accused (falsely, it turned out) to being "inappropriate" with younger fans. Other KZbinrs do way worse and suffer way less.

[@amberwolf5371]

She built her entire persona on a moral pedestal where she was calling out all of these terrible people and companies and "holding them accountable". Finding out how she treated people behind the scenes made it impossible to feel comfortable watching and supporting her content. There are plenty of other KZbinrs who make the same kind of content that I can go to. Not only that but then she just couldn't stop making things worse. She kept people talking and kept the spotlight on the whole controversy by her initial call out of Legal Eagle, followed by her poor response to the allegations, followed by her multiple cease and desists. She literally trained her audience to be hyper critical of these kinds of actions. I'm not surprised at all that she has lost her most active viewers. (I was one of them and have been totally put off of her entire channel)

[@davehall7041]

The algorythym is working for me i get notifications for your videos pretty much straight away just to reassure you

[@davehall7041]

Thank you for talking about this i never really understood about views and subscribers before i do watch a lot of your videos and i am trying to catchup on all your past ones but sometimes the subject doesnt really interest me but i do love your videos in general especially the doctor who ones and doctor who related ones but ones like this one educate me as well so thank you for that

[@ArielVHarloff]

the whole thing with legal eagle is even more dumb than you pointed out for two reasons 1 the editor was very clearly asking about sth entirely different from what Blair ended up accusing legal eagle of and 2 that guy's whole thing is that he's an actual lawyer (recently-ish started his own lawfirm I believe) It's such a stupid thing to accuse a lawyer of XD (not that lawyers are necessarily above copying people just saying he's probably making sure he runs a clean ship if he wants to stay a sucessful lawyer)