Madison reveals experiences working at LMG

[avgvstvs]

26 minutes ago, zoopers said:

People asking why she waited until now and didn't go to the authorities. Look at the response she's getting. Look at how rabid Linus fans are tearing into her here and on Reddit. You really expected her to come forward before now and risk getting ripped apart by the cult of personality surrounding Linus? She's taking this opportunity to tell her story because there's already controversy around Linus and it might soften the blow she's going to get in response.

 

I mean, you don't have to believe her outright, but you don't have to rip her apart just because she's intruding on your parasocial relationship with Linus either. We've seen in the last few days how unethical and dishonest Linus has been, so I'm willing to at least give her the benefit of the doubt. Especially considering we even have it on record that many of the LTT employees have complained about being overworked, etc. 

I don't think i saw a single comment here, or on twitter, or reddit, "ripping her apart". Only people that REALLY hates LTT taking the chance to kick a sick dog (i think that's the expression? sorry, LoL).

[Cletis]

1 minute ago, Master Link said:

Sounds like a lack of human decency, but that's your personal problem not mine. 

How is it wrong telling people to stand up for themselves maybe your the problem here, you all wanna grab a pitchfork and tear down LMG with allegation that’s have no merit to them yet. And all I’m saying is people really need to just learn to stick up for them self stop being the victim and take action, if that’s lacks human decency then it’s no wonder this world is going soft. If people would just start speaking up sooner then later they can move on process things faster and be in a better mental state of health. 

[Duranu]

24 minutes ago, starsmine said:

That is NOT an exit interview.

Correct, It's a whistleblower recording that shows that around the time after Madison left, Linus felt the need to call a mandatory meeting about employees and HR, while not naming names specifically for "obvious reasons"

 

Quote

I was in a state of shock reading through these allegations, plain and simple. They aren’t consistent with my recollections. They aren’t consistent with our internal processes. They aren’t consistent with our company values

Really, He can't recall any of this even though they had a company wide meeting about it? Dude was well aware of the allegations at the time if he felt the need to call a company meeting about how people treat others in the work place even if he wasnt willing to name names, who else could it have possibly been at the time if it wasn't Madison? Dude is pulling an extremely scummy move by trying to brush this under the rug and pretend like it never happened, Good luck explaining away the whistleblower video
 

Quote

(Linus Response Quote) We pride ourselves on maintaining a safe and inclusive environment. In addition to our existing report systems (both anonymous and otherwise)

Quote

(Whistleblower audio) or if you would prefer to provide your feedback anonymously, we have an option for that as well.

It's the manager and co worker feedback form. Uh, Yvonne, if you're not aware of it, show of hands who is not aware of it. Hey, a lot of people aren't aware of it. Good, so now we all know. There's an anonymous form, if for whatever reason you're not comfortable

The workplace is so safe and inclusive that many employees were unaware of the anonymous form until after Madison left and Linus called a mandatory meeting, Seems legit

[KOAO]

2 minutes ago, Drazil100 said:

Not everyone is logical, not everyone thinks to do the same things you or I would do, when we would do it. Harassment issues are by their very nature messy. It is EXTREMELY common that the victim of harassment not feel comfortable of safe coming out about it.

Yes I understand this but this is why even in the most bleak of situations reason and logic has to be somewhat attempted to be applied. Otherwise...well, look at where LMG and Linus is right now. Linus didn't use much logic when he responded in the forum yesterday and he's put his entire empire at risk, and that's led to this.

[Neroon]

16 minutes ago, Booch121 said:

I like all the absolutes here. YOU EITHER GO WITH MY SOLUTION OR YOUR A LIAR AND EVERYTHING YOUVE SAID IS OUT OF CONTEXT!!!!!!!!!!

It is out of context. As in literally there is no context. Do you get that? There is no context. She claims she had to twerk for someone. Where is the context? Was it sexual? Was it private? Was it for a video? Did they push? Did they accept a no? Who suggested it? Who would she twerk for? And that's even assuming it's true.

Do you get that there is no context? 

[hassam222]

2 minutes ago, Anders155 said:

so.. leaked meeting audio the day after she left. Yikes.

 

 

Minus James joke at the end, it is a bog standard HR meeting that happens across hundreds of offices around the world every day. I should know, I sit through one every year.

[zoopers]

2 minutes ago, Absentia13 said:

This is a silly and shortsighted, even semi dangerous way to think. There are many reasons why someone wouldn't run to the police. Off the top of my head: They wouldn't do anything. Unknown if it was an actual CRIME, or just an HR level workplace violation or a more severe one? Unfamiliar with the laws of Canada as a US citizen her whole life previously. Fear of losing her job/paying her rent/moving back to the US without the money to do so/losing her future in the industry. She could have feared Linus or his team blacklisting her on the tech youtube space, she could have feared (as she stated) backlash from the community and LTT fanboys (gross).

 

Additionally, HOW DO YOU KNOW SHE DIDN'T GO TO THE POLICE?!?!? And they told her to file a complaint or talk to HR or move back to the US where she came from. You don't know what happened, but your attitude suggests that she's just a lying fake victim with an axe to grind. And maybe she does have an axe to grind, but that doesn't mean that all/most/some of what she said is true. In fact, there's SO MUCH OF IT that some of it nearly has to be true. Furthermore, get Linus's dong out of your mouth, you look ridiculous. Big OOF. 

 

This. People don't understand the power dynamics at play either. You don't want to make an enemy of a public company with a massive fanbase like LTT. People in this thread are literally proving why it's so hard to go public with stories of abuse.

 

I was caught in a really toxic workplace in my first job. I stuck around for a lot longer than I should have, until one day I decided that I'd had enough. I didn't say a word to HR. I didn't say a word during my exit interview. I didn't say a word after leaving the company. Why? Because I was fucking scared that if I made a fuss, it would impact me negatively in the future. And I was a man working at a small tech company, not even close to a well-known media giant like LTT.

 

People who suffer workplace abuse very often don't speak out, because quite often it's just "he said, she said" and it can screw up your career down the line.

[Cletis]

Just now, Master Link said:

You keep trying to incite me, it's not working.    Keep going.

Nah I’m not here to cause incitement just to inform people you don’t have to let what other say on the internet effect your real life. Like honestly I could give two shits about anything you reply to me. Cause you don’t matter to me 

[Reclus]

1 minute ago, Blademaster91 said:

Yeah it was clearly expressed as a sexual joke, and given that the video felt very scripted I wouldn't be surprised if the joke was in the script because LMG likes to put innuendo jokes in a lot of their videos, I guess they felt it was "on brand" to do that though its inappropriate for a serious video.

But seeing Luke make that joke was kinda weird, because he usually doesn't make immature jokes on the WAN snow, then again whoever was in charge of the video put an LTT store ad in the video and monetized the video, they even joked about monetizing the video saying the apology video was a free one.

Jesus effing Christ... you don't understand the joke, you immediately imply sexual innuendo. There is literally no reasoning with an angry mob. You people have collectively proven that brain functions seize when you don't understand something.

 

It's a joke. Not a dik. Don't take it so hard. This is a sexual joke.

Luke made a SaaS joke which you are too braindead to get.

[Neroon]

16 minutes ago, William Isted said:

It is really simple. Don't try to silence people. If it has merit it will be dealt with as such, if it doesn't it won't be. Police and lawyers have **** all to do with this.

Under the law she can absolutely be silenced, or sued. Right now this all amounts to slander, because she is throwing out accusations without any proof or context. LMG can't even respond to this, except by suing her for slander.

 

Police and lawyers have nothing to do with this? They are exactly the people to talk to if this is true. But if it ain't, then I guess throwing it on twitter is a great alternative.

[zoopers]

4 minutes ago, KOAO said:

The thing is that it is well known and well documented that the company has overworked their employees. I don't support that of course, I believe in the last "Working at LMG" video or Whatever when asked for feedback they asked for more time. I won't deny that.

However, I genuinely believe that there were several times she could've gotten this sorted. Whether it was going to the proper avenues available in Canada, either taking the matter privately to court/settling or whatever. All of them without ever needing to talk with Linus or anyone at LMG. And that only now that LMG is in hot water did she decide to say something, on top of screenshot a response from Linus, Misrepresent what was said and spin it negatively.

 

You know that going to court isn't private, right? It would come out and fans would rip her apart. Like they already are.

 

Which is exactly what's happening and why she took this opportunity to go public. She was hoping that with the existing controversy, the heat on her wouldn't be as high. Do you know how terrifying it is to speak up about workplace abuse when the company has a lot more power and influence in the industry? None of you would take her seriously if she came out with this BEFORE the controversy broke either.

[LiamApex]

Agree.. just an extract from another comment of mine as I think it fits well.. 

 

as a member of this community since NCIX days and frankly since my child hood, I want to see Linus come out of this, I want to see him in more fun off the cuff content like the old days. the community loves the vloggy style content. whole room water cooling was one of the best things LTT ever produced more crazy projects like that please. its been undoubtedly a rough week for Linus Tech Tips. but no one has anything to gain from him being berated and attacked over this. yes people are mad, but there are 120 real people working with Linus that depend on him for their Mortgage, rent, food and car payments. he is responsible for 120 incomes. so I think we need to allow LTT a chance to rectify this. 

[Lurker_Letum]

6 minutes ago, Duranu said:

Correct, It's a whistleblower recording that shows that around the time after Madison left, Linus felt the need to call a mandatory meeting about employees and HR, while not naming names specifically for "obvious reasons"

 

That's pretty standard when a disgruntled employee leaves after alleged sexual abuse allegations or any other ethical allegation. Still remember all the ethical meetings I had when working for the government every time Trudeau got himself into another scandal. Like me, a minimum wage employee, is about to spend government money on a private jet for vacation lol.

 

6 minutes ago, Duranu said:

The workplace is so safe and inclusive that many employees were unaware of the anonymous form until after Madison left and Linus called a mandatory meeting, Seems legit

I mean not knowing about that lends weight to it being a safe work environment imop. At my first job I had no idea were any of the HR forms were except for a very general idea of "in the sop intranet" since I never had any reason to look for them. So if asked anything about were any of that shit was I would of had the same answer as the majority of those employees. It wasn't until the company I worked for was bought out by an American company and replaced all the management with slave drivers that I actually learned were that stuff was.

Edited August 16, 2023 by Lurker_Letum
Original comment I was replying to added information to there post.

[zoopers]

5 minutes ago, avgvstvs said:

Only people that REALLY hates LTT taking the chance to kick a sick dog (i think that's the expression? sorry, LoL).

 

Regardless of the Madison stuff, do you really think LTT are the victims in the events of the last week?

 

Yikes.

[strayts]

Most of us want nothing more than for LMG to be a fantastic place to work that operates with integrity and in a manner than is beyond reproach. Holding them accountable for their actions is partially how that begins to happen.

[H0NEYL00PS]

16 minutes ago, Dave4u said:

While I will choose not to get involved or pass comment on the current situations affecting LMG please can we all remember that, as those involved have said, LMG employs many people, most of who wont have anything to do with this.

Everyone is struggling with money, cost of living etc so please, before you try to bring down a whole company, think about the staff who just want to work and get paid - this must be super scary for them.

This is in no way condoning any of the alleged incidents and they too should be openly investigated and ensure any victims are cared for as best possible. I simply want people to think of everyone in this.

I just logged on to post the same thing. Through all of the fire and flames all over the place right now, I’m really glad to see that someone else beat me to it. 

 

I am worried for the health and well-being of every stakeholder in this - from people outside LMG to the wider LMG team to the people at the core of all this, including Linus himself.

 

This is scary and I hope it ends soon and on a positive note and that nobody gets hurt.

[Sasha2D]

14 minutes ago, Reclus said:

Jesus effing Christ... you don't understand the joke, you immediately imply sexual innuendo. There is literally no reasoning with an angry mob. You people have collectively proven that brain functions seize when you don't understand something.

 

It's a joke. Not a dik. Don't take it so hard. This is a sexual joke.

Luke made a SaaS joke which you are too braindead to get.

 

The SaaS joke is also a sex joke. They are not mutually exclusive. You are too braindead to get it.

[Cletis]

5 minutes ago, Master Link said:

 

You mean like.............Madison?

 

See, I walked you into that.    (Oh, you're still quiet regarding this, that's ok, take your time!  Stick up "for yourself".)

Lol have a good day mate I already told you that you don’t matter to me so take your insufficient self to another post to troll 

[KOAO]

1 minute ago, zoopers said:

 

You know that going to court isn't private, right? It would come out and fans would rip her apart. Like they already are.

 

Which is exactly what's happening and why she took this opportunity to go public. She was hoping that with the existing controversy, the heat on her wouldn't be as high. Do you know how terrifying it is to speak up about workplace abuse when the company has a lot more power and influence in the industry? None of you would take her seriously if she came out with this BEFORE the controversy broke either.

This is true, so that is on me. That said, if there are legitimate claims with proof that will be leaked because it always does then what people say on forums or twitter won't matter because she'll be in the right and LMG will have to deal with more than just not sending Billet their cooler back.

 

If she came with proper receipts as I've repeatedly stated that back her claim then of course I would've taken it seriously. Because she would've had proof that LMG is truly a bad place to work for and that they are no different than Activision. If she had an email or voice recording of Colton calling her work dogshit, or James telling her to twerk in the writers meeting, or whatever then it's damning evidence that will turn into a criminal case. But none of that has happened. She's posted, as I've said again, one screenshot. One, of Linus' response to the allegations, that she tried to spin from "If there is evidence that I've committed a crime, you'll hear about it" to "Hehehe I can get away from it."

[Neroon]

10 minutes ago, Absentia13 said:

This is a silly and shortsighted, even semi dangerous way to think. There are many reasons why someone wouldn't run to the police. Off the top of my head: They wouldn't do anything. Unknown if it was an actual CRIME, or just an HR level workplace violation or a more severe one? Unfamiliar with the laws of Canada as a US citizen her whole life previously. Fear of losing her job/paying her rent/moving back to the US without the money to do so/losing her future in the industry. She could have feared Linus or his team blacklisting her on the tech youtube space, she could have feared (as she stated) backlash from the community and LTT fanboys (gross).

 

Additionally, HOW DO YOU KNOW SHE DIDN'T GO TO THE POLICE?!?!? And they told her to file a complaint or talk to HR or move back to the US where she came from. You don't know what happened, but your attitude is pretty disgusting and your post suggests that she's just a lying fake victim with an axe to grind. And maybe she does have an axe to grind, but that doesn't mean that all/most/some of what she said is true. In fact, there's SO MUCH OF IT that some of it nearly has to be true. Furthermore, get Linus's dong out of your mouth, you look ridiculous. Big OOF. 

If she feared all that, why did she immediately after she parted ways with LMG, go online to imply more was going on? If you are worried about retaliation, that's the last thing you want to do.

 

Oh please, I've heard way wilder stories then this. Almost everyone in my team has been accused sexual abuse of a 16 year old girl at the grouphome I work, we are all pedophiles, touched her etc. This is also a girl who has pulled a knife on us many times, also glass shards, broken plates, chairs etc. If you think there aren't people that make up so much shit, then you have no idea. Oh and to be clear, I had colleagues who at first didn't believe what we said either, and were sure there was some truth to what she said, until they were the ones getting accused.

Plenty of crazy people are out there, don't you worry about that... or do.

 

In the end, she offers 0 context. Why do you think that is? There is a reason for that, think long and hard about why someone doesn't want to offer context.

[Dave4u]

6 minutes ago, strayts said:

Most of us want nothing more than for LMG to be a fantastic place to work that operates with integrity and in a manner than is beyond reproach. Holding them accountable for their actions is partially how that begins to happen.

Absolutely, and the resulting investigations now needs to happen with the same level of respect and privacy as would be afforded any private company and it's staff, irrrespective of industry. To not may infact be detrimental to any positive outcome. 

 

If they choose at the end of the process to publish findings, so be it it, until that point we should wait to pass public opinion. 

[zoopers]

3 minutes ago, Reclus said:

Jesus effing Christ... you don't understand the joke, you immediately imply sexual innuendo. There is literally no reasoning with an angry mob. You people have collectively proven that brain functions seize when you don't understand something.

 

It's a joke. Not a dik. Don't take it so hard. This is a sexual joke.

Luke made a SaaS joke which you are too braindead to get.

69 is a sex joke. There's no way around it. It refers to a well-known sexual act and nobody with two braincells to rub together is unaware of that. 

 

If you're trying to claim that it's something it's not, then you're straight-up being dishonest. That seems to be quite on-brand for LTT, so you should consider applying for a job there.

[EtaCarinae]

Just so everyone's aware, Maxine liked Madison's tweet, not unlike when Madison last spoke out and Max made a now deleted tiktok about it. Take it as you will. 

 

[William Isted]

2 minutes ago, Neroon said:

Under the law she can absolutely be silenced, or sued. Right now this all amounts to slander, because she is throwing out accusations without any proof or context. LMG can't even respond to this, except by suing her for slander.

 

Police and lawyers have nothing to do with this? They are exactly the people to talk to if this is true. But if it ain't, then I guess throwing it on twitter is a great alternative.

She cannot be silenced. She can be punished for her actions if they are deemed criminal or civilly damaging without truth.

 

LMG can respond to this. They will do so in way of the third-party company they suggested they'll bring in to check for any wrong doing.

 

Yes. It is workplace harassment and bullying. Who in the actual hell goes to the police for this? Maybe it's a cultural difference, but the company has a duty to provide a non toxic workplace which would be typically seen as civil not criminal. And yeah, I can totally see Madison bank rolling lawyers for this. If she had the forums would be going ape shit about getting lawyers involved and not trying to sort it out in private.

[BigFatTeddy]

6 minutes ago, zoopers said:

[...] I didn't say a word to HR. I didn't say a word during my exit interview. I didn't say a word after leaving the company. [...]

Never ever do an exit interview. You already quit. No benefit in that; only bad stuff will come from that. If you consider yourself a professional, always keep it on a professional level. And the most professional thing is to just walk away. Hand in your notice, serve to the extent of your contract, expect nothing, and walk away. If someone schedules an HR conversation at the end of your contract or puts an exit interview in your calendar, accept the invite, cancel on short notice, repeat till you get to the end of your contract, hand in your shit, leave.