Andrew Callaghan Allegations: YouTuber Apologizes for 'Sex Pest Behavior'

YouTube journalist Andrew Callaghan has broken his silence on allegations that he subjected multiple women to unwanted sexual advances, though he added that some of the things said about him online are "not true."

Earlier this January, a woman named Caroline Elise released a TikTok video, in which she alleged that Callaghan, host of YouTube channel Channel 5, "wore [her] down" with requests to have sex while staying at her house.

"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 the now-deleted video. "You shouldn't be supporting him."

Days later, another woman named Dana alleged in a TikTok video of her own that This Place Rules filmmaker Callaghan had pressured her into having sex, stating: "I told him to stop. I told him to get off of me multiple times."

Since then, other women have stepped forward on social media, including on the Channel5 subreddit, to share their allegations of sexual misconduct.

A legal representative of Callaghan said in a statement to TMZ: "Andrew is devastated that he is being accused of any type of physical or mental coercion against anyone. Conversations about pressure and consent are extremely important and Andrew wants to have these conversations, so he can continue to learn and grow."

On Sunday, Callaghan spoke out himself in a video posted to YouTube on Sunday. In the almost five-minute clip, the social-media personality said that, while he has "never overstepped [the] line" regarding consent, there are "nuanced" issues at play.

Andrew Callaghan's Full Response to Allegations

"I never thought I'd make a video like this, but I think there's an important conversation to be had and I just want to be fully accountable, honest and transparent with all of you guys.

"So I'd like to start by thanking every single person who came out in the past week to speak about different ways in which my behavior has made them feel uncomfortable or pressured during a sexual situation, and to people who said that I've made unwanted advances and had a hard time with rejection.

"I'm sure this was not easy to do. It's never easy to speak out and it was hard for me to hear as well, because, to be honest with you, up until this point, I didn't even really realize that I had this pattern that had affected multiple people.

"I'd also like to apologize for my silence. I think that, when this stuff first came out, I was in a state of denial and shock. I was, you know, just riding the high for my movie that just came out and then, within 48 hours, I was denounced by my closest collaborators and my name was printed in 40 different news outlets next to the words 'sexual misconduct,' and I just kind of spiraled into a mental-health crisis.

"I'm OK now, but I don't really think this is about me. This is about the people that I've affected. So I just want to express my complete sympathy, respect and support for anyone who I've done wrong by, and I really want to do better and be fully accountable for everything that I've done.

"So, that being said, I want to make a few things clear. 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. Because, like I said, I think, 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 and I thought that, if at first somebody was reluctant, they're playing hard to get. Just try harder. And if you think someone's feeling you, you know, make a physical advance and see if they go with it.

"I think that, especially, I realized when so many young people—especially young men—rush to defend me when this stuff first started coming out, that this type of sex-pest behavior is normalized, and a lot of people think this stuff is normal when I don't think that it is. And I think that I want to be fully responsible for not having a fluid understanding of consent and what enthusiastic, two-way consent looks like.

"That being said, a lot of the things that have been said online about me are not true. A lot of things are missing really important contextual information that I think would change people's interpretation of a lot of these situations.

"But I'm not here to invalidate anybody's lived experience. If you feel pressured, you know, that's just what it is. I hope that young people, and young men in particular, can use my mistakes to learn and move through life with a better understanding of consent as far.

"As for what I have planned, I'm not really sure what comes next. I mean, obviously, you know, reporting is my one true love and I'm 25 years old and I have my whole life ahead of me. But I really think that I need to do some serious work on myself and figure myself out. So I'm going to start therapy sessions pretty much immediately.

"Also, not to blame alcohol but I truly believe that alcohol was a contributing factor to my poor decision-making, and I think alcohol in general has had a devastating impact on my life. So I think I'm gonna make the decision to join the 12-step program for Alcoholics Anonymous, and during this journey into sobriety, I want to take a serious step back from public life and, like I said, figure myself out.

"I hope that this reaches the ears of anyone who's felt affected by me. I'd love to reach out to you, or you can reach out to me—even just for me to say I'm sorry. I really apologize and I appreciate you all.

"I also want to apologize to my closest collaborators—you know, my friends, my family and people who will have to wear this stain on their career forever. You guys don't deserve this, and I love you guys.

"That being said, if you never want to watch Channel 5 again, I understand. I hope you remember the missions of radical empathy and media literacy that we have tried to put into the world through our coverage."