Independent filmmaker and media personality Andrew Callaghan, who gained prominence for his comedic man-on-the-street Channel 5 interviews on YouTube and a new HBO documentary “This Place Rules,” has shared a video apology to further address allegations of sexual misconduct, first levied against him in early January.
The nearly five-minute video, posted on a YouTube channel credited to Callaghan on Sunday afternoon, features the 25-year-old speaking to the camera, responding to the allegations against him and sharing that he plans to seek professional treatment to address his previous behavior.
“I hadn’t realized I had had this pattern that had affected multiple people. I’d like to apologize for my silence. When this stuff first came out, I was in a state of denial and shock,” Callaghan stated. “I was denounced by my closest collaborators and my name was printed in 40 different news outlets, next to the words ‘sexual misconduct.’ I just kind of spiraled into a mental health crisis. I’m okay now, but I don’t really think this is about me. This is about the people I’ve affected. So I just want to express my complete sympathy, support and respect for anyone that I’ve done wrong by. I really want to do better and be fully accountable for everything that I’ve done.”
Earlier in January, a woman named Caroline Elise alleged that Callaghan had stayed at her house and “wore [her] down” with requests to have sex. “It’s even more hard to have to relive the trauma that I endured every single day by seeing this man as a social justice warrior, as someone who cares about human rights, get a platform,” Elise said in a TikTok. “You shouldn’t be supporting him.”
Another woman named Dana came forward a few days later, alleging that Callaghan had pressured her into having sex: “I told him to stop. I told him to get off of me multiple times,” she said in a video posted to TikTok.
“I’ve always taken ‘no’ for an answer, as far as consent. I’ve never overstepped that line. But I think I want to have a more nuanced and important conversation about power dynamics, pressure and coercion,” Callaghan says in the new video. “For a long time, I was behaving in a way that I actually thought was normal. I thought that going home from the bar alone made you a loser. I thought that persistence was a form of flattery… I want to be fully responsible for not having a fluid understanding of consent.”
Callaghan also states that several stories about him online are “not true” and “missing important contextual information.” He also shares that he plans to begin therapy sessions and the 12-step program for Alcoholics Anonymous, taking a “serious step back from public life.”
“Not to blame alcohol, but I truly believe alcohol was a contributing factor to my poor decision-making,” Callaghan says.
Callaghan’s video concludes with an apology to his collaborators and friends: “You guys don’t deserve this and I love you guys. That said, If you never want to watch Channel 5 again, I understand.”
Callaghan had previously responded to the allegations against him through a legal representative, who stated that “repeated requests for money” had been made. “Andrew vows to be better in this regard, while reminding his audience that while even one concerned partner is too many, there are always multiple sides to a story,” a statement issued Thursday reads.
Watch Callaghan’s apology below.
