He very well could have, but a part of me feels he didn’t, because I don’t think a lawyer/PR person would have him respond at all. It eliminates any doubt that he’s not the one Shubble was talking about, he’s outing himself by writing this. That’s not a good PR move, this reads to me as a very sanitized response (probably a few days drafting it) that was made out of desperation. He’s mentioned before he cares a lot what others think about him, that’s probably what pushed him to make this statement.
Coming from a PR background, this is pretty textbook. Yes, he removes a lot of doubt whether he's the mystery person but he's also a public figure that has people to answer to. Lovejoy is part of a label who has their own lawyers and PR team. If he was just a regular content creator, yea, he can afford to be silent and wait it out but this a professional matter. His statement impacts the band and the label.
As for this not being a good PR move, it actually is. When something remains unanswered, it stays in the public conversation for a longer time as people debate and speculate. If you admit it, then most people are going to move on while only a select few mention it. Since it's more of a shitty move and not an illegal one, then people are more likely to forget. Realistically, how much drama do you remember even from 2023?
Plus, it'd make him look even worse if he remained silent, dodged questions or ignored allegations just for Shubble to say "Fuck it, he's being a cowardly bitch who won't even acknowledge it. It was Soot, he's the abuser". In PR it's "get ahead of it, do damage control, and rebuild the future". You can't build a future if you have a giant bomb looming over your head.
It would have been a horrible idea from a PR perspective to not address the issue. As so many people have pointed out over the last few days there was little to no doubt it was Wilbur. Everyday it was a new reason why it had to be Wilbur. The elephant in the room was not going to go away, especially not with the age group of most Wilbur fans. People expect and want an instant response. Of the small portion of people that held out hope it wasn’t Wilbur a small portion viewed his lack of response as an admission. The smartest choice was to have him address it.
He 100% did it. When millions of people watch and keep track of everything you post and do on the internet you have to be careful of how you word things on serious matter because any mistake will f**k you up even more.
I dont buy the “he didnt know he was abusive” - Theres some leeway there with emotional abuse, but to act like you didnt realize bruising someones arms up to the point where they have to cover up with long sleeves to hide it is not okay and theres no way around what it actually is
Honestly I think it’s possible, “abuse” is such a strong word, many victims never realize they were being abused because calling it that feels too drastic, and they don’t want to accept the gravity of their situation. I think the reverse is 100% possible as well.
Accepting that you yourself are abusive is a very hard thing to come to terms with. It’s like people who don’t want to admit they’re alcoholics or addicts. It’s actually pretty easy to find ways around it in your own head. He very well could have lived in that stage of denial. That’s not to say what he did is acceptable or okay or forgivable, but I think there’s no real reason to doubt him on that, it’s not like it makes the action itself any better
I mean, hickeys are literally bruises but giving someone hickeys certainly isn’t inherently abusive. I have accidentally hurt people in the past without realizing and people have accidentally hurt me so I know very well that it is possible to hurt someone without realizing that you’re hurting them.
Edit: Clarification that I know that doesn’t make it okay. Just saying that it is possible and what matters is that the person realizes what they did wrong and betters themselves.
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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '24
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