Professional VALORANT commentator and host of First Strike EU Yinsu Collins released a 35-minute video on Monday rejecting an apology Harry "DPS" MacGill made earlier that day.
“It’s not like I will hold this against you forever,” Collins said to DPS in the video. “Just what you said to me so far isn’t going to make me feel more safe or comfortable in the scene. I am terrified of you and what you guys will do to me if I ever make a mistake ever again, or if there is another opportunity that comes up where you can take me out of context. I am too scared. I don’t want to go through this again.”
In the video, Collin’s describes the harassment and backlash she has received over the past few months due to a video clip from the VALORANT First Strike EU that she claims was taken out of context. Collins alleges that DPS essentially "slandered" her by intentionally taking a joke she made about G2’s Ardis "Ardiis" Svarenieks out of its original context in order to stir up drama on Twitter.
Su's video came several hours after DPS released a Twitlonger in which he apologized for what he called “unwarranted criticism" towards Collins, including actions from third parties. The latter included death threats and sexist harassment.
“I shouldn't be commenting on how an analyst desk is performing nor should I do it in such an unprofessional manner,” DPS said in his Twitlonger. “I will learn from this mistake and make sure I use my social platforms for spreading positivity. I wish Su the best in her career; she's a talented person who deserves all the support we can give her.”
DPS tweeted a number of allegations in December, claiming that Collins had made inappropriate jokes on a broadcast referencing accusations against Ardiis of match-fixing (he was cleared of those match-fixing allegations). According to Collins, the pro's tweets led to a large number of people harassing and threatening her online, including some people attempting to get her fired from her job at Riot Games. DPS didn't delete those tweets until this past week.
Collins thoroughly addressed the situation with DPS and Ardiis in her 35-minute response video on Monday. In the response, she questioned the motives behind DPS apology and explained how much damage his tweets caused, both in terms of her reputation and her mental health.
“One of the reasons I decided to make this video, instead of addressing it in a Twitlonger like most people would, is that I am terrified — genuinely terrified — of being taken out of context,” Collins explained during the introduction of the video.
Collins then argued that since DPS is on trial with Excel Esports, his statement may be a PR move that is designed to help improve his image so he can land a pro contract, rather than an authentic apology. She also criticized DPS and his apology for failing to actually admit to the specifics of his wrongdoings and failing to take responsibility for his choice to leave those Tweets up for months before taking them down.
“I am all for giving people second chances and forgiving people and moving on, but because you only posted this statement to appease an org, to comply with an org, it’s really hard for me to actually see what you actually mean,” Collins explained. “It sounds like you are regretting what you did because it’s damaging your image and your brand, not because you care about me and what you did to me. That’s incredibly disappointing to see and to hear.”
She went on to criticize how DPS handled the situation throughout the past few months. Specifically, she pointed out that he wants people to respect his public image while not caring about her public image.
“Did you think about my image when you decided to tell everybody that I made fun of Artiis allegations for match-fixing?” she asked DPS. “Did you think about my image when you encouraged people to try and get me fired? Did you think about my image when you and your other friends sat there for however many days it was, just constantly tweeting me stuff and sending me stuff, watching the abuse unfold — and not deleting the tweet?”
In the second half of the video, Collin’s showed the full segment from which DPS's original clip was taken, attempting to demonstrate that the way he used it was functional “slander”. She apologized to Ardiis if he was offended by the segment as shown in full but she clearly demonstrated that the small clip DPS chose was indeed taken out of context.
“We all make mistakes. I am not perfect. I am trying really, really hard to grow from it,” Collins said to Ardiis. “I am trying really, really hard to become better. That is my goal for this year. So I hope maybe we can have some time and you can see that I am trying my best, and maybe you can forgive me then.”
Near the end of her video, Collins implored the community to be better, saying: “Let’s stop tweeting stuff for likes. Let's stop farming people's mental health for likes on Twitter. Or like abusing people, targeting someone to send them hate, for the sake of getting a laugh from your friends or being someone you are not. Let's just stop doing that. It’s not good for anybody.”
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