The Linus Media Group YouTube empire, led by Canadian YouTuber Linus Sebastian, has stopped all production under a cloud of controversies – the latest being allegations of workplace harassment from a former employee. The Linus Media Group (LMG) is best known for producing Linus Tech Tips – its most popular YouTube channel which has over 15.5 million subscribers.
YouTuber Madison Reeve took to Twitter (now called X) on Wednesday to talk about her time at LMG. She said she was overworked, constantly belittled, bullied, faced verbal abuse and reprimanded for taking the sick leaves she was entitled to during the time she worked at Linus Tech Tips. Things got so toxic for Reeve that she once cut her leg open on purpose so she would be rushed to the hospital and could get a day off without being reprimanded for it.
“I chose to quit my role at LTT because it, and the working environment I was facing, were ruining my mental health,” Reeve said at the beginning of her lengthy thread. She was with the YouTube channel for less than a year in 2021, per various reports.
During this time, Reeve said she faced incredible work pressure – “I was expected to post 3 tweets, 2 Instagram posts, and 2 TikToks minimum per day,” she wrote. She was also expected to “plan, film, edit, and post 2 Floatplane exclusives per week”; “manage, plan, come up with, execute, get approval for, and schedule out all the sponsored content on socials (excluding YouTube)”; and coordinate with other employees all the while.
“My time at this company brought my mental health to an all time low,” wrote Reeve, claiming that she was constantly belittled by certain members of the upper management. “My work was called dogs**t, I was called incompetent,” she wrote.
I was consistently belittled by certain members of upper management.Related stories
My work was called "dogshit" I was called "incompetent".
When I would reach out to managers and try to get help with these situations, I would be told to "put on my big girl pants" and be "more assertive".
— Madison | Suop (@suuuoppp) August 16, 2023
Abuse of power
Madison Reeve said that the opportunities she received at Linus Tech Tips were nothing compared to the day-to-day issues she faced there. There was no system of redressal either. When she tried to talk about the workplace issues she was facing, Reeve was called a “tattle tale”, she claimed.
The opportunities LTT presented to me were nothing in comparison the day to day issues I faced.It did not matter if I spoke to someone with evidence of an abuse of power, or inappropriate workplace behavior, it was considered tattle taling.
I was actually called a tattle tale
— Madison | Suop (@suuuoppp) August 16, 2023
“It did not matter if I spoke to someone with evidence of an abuse of power, or inappropriate workplace behavior, it was considered tattle taling,” she wrote.
Among her more shocking claims were allegations of sexual harassment. “I was told to ‘calm my t**s’, ‘stop being such a b***h’, and other comments to similar effects,” Reeve said in her Twitter post.
There were numerous instances of misinformation being given to me purposefully to negatively impact my work.I only know this because co-workers would tell me they overheard the actual information I should have been given.
It felt like a horrible teenage drama movie.
— Madison | Suop (@suuuoppp) August 16, 2023
‘Cut my leg open’
The work culture at Linus Tech Tips was so toxic that Reeve was reprimanded for taking sick leaves that she was entitled to. In fact, there was no concept of days off in the company’s hustle culture, she claimed. Things got so bad for Reeve that she cut her leg open on purpose so she would have to be rushed to the hospital. To her, this was the only way of getting a day off without being reprimanded for it.
“I purposefully cut my leg open so badly I would have to go to the ER to get it stapled back together. It was genuinely the only way in my mind to take a day off without being harassed for a reason why,” she said.
It was genuinely the only way in my mind to take a day off without being harassed for a reason why.I had spoken to managers about how I was struggling, and how the workload was too much for one person.
But I was belittled and told "you just have bad time management skills"— Madison | Suop (@suuuoppp) August 16, 2023
“There are so many instances that led up to that moment,” said Reeve, adding that after she left the company, she thought often about how she could have handled things differently. In the end, she reached the conclusion that she could not have done things differently as “I was not treated fairly and in the moment I couldn't even see that because I was told I was the problem by people I had looked up to for years.”
Linus Sebastian’s response
When The Verge reached out to Linus Sebastian, the Canadian YouTuber said he was shocked by the allegations and they are not consistent with his own recollections of events.
“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,” Sebastian said in a statement.
“We pride ourselves on maintaining a safe and inclusive environment. In addition to our existing report systems (both anonymous and otherwise) we’ve proactively reached out internally today to encourage members of our team to report any workplace bullying or harassment they might be experiencing so we can take quick and decisive action.
“Our HR team will be conducting a more thorough assessment of the allegations, and when we are ready, we will release a more complete statement. For now I would ask that we allow our team the time they need be as thorough as possible,” he said.
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