Ethan Klein issues formal apology to QTCinderella after laughing at deepfake drama

Ethan Klein has issued a formal apology to Twitch star QTCinderella after bursting into laughter while watching her tearful response to a website selling inappropriate deepfakes of herself and other female broadcasters.

On January 30, Twitch streamer Atrioc came under fire after getting caught purchasing explicit deepfakes of several high-profile female broadcasters.

Several of the women affected by the website from which he purchased such content spoke out against these deepfakes, including prominent streamer QTCinderella, who notably promised to sue the site’s creator in a tearful live stream.

Popular YouTuber Ethan Klein reacted to QT’s statement about the website during an episode of the H3 Podcast that same day. During the stream, Klein reportedly told one of his technicians to play a slowed-down version of Nat King Cole’s ‘Christmas Song’ over the video, causing him to burst into laughter.

Klein immediately received critical responses from his own crew, a few of which hid their faces from the camera. After a moment passed, he apologized for laughing and claimed that he supported QT amid the ongoing situation.

A clip from Klein’s broadcast instantly went viral online, sparking backlash from netizens on social media and even garnering criticism from other streamers like xQc, who compared him to an “opossum.”

Ethan Klein apologizes to QTCinderella after laughing about deepfake drama

Since then, Klein has uploaded a separate video addressing the issue, in which he directly apologized to QTCinderella.

“QT Cinderella put out a very heartfelt, serious video about how deeply these kinds of things have deeply affected her,” he explained. “During that video, I made the really unfortunate and stupid decision to play this stupid soundbyte of this guy singing, ‘chestnuts over an open fire.'”

“The problem was, then I started laughing while her heartfelt, really serious was going on. Clearly, you can imagine the dichotomy of those two things was not good. It was not good, because one, I actually really respect QT. I think she’s a really talented and great creator. I think the pain she’s experiencing is 100% valid.”

“That’s the part that kind of sucks for me the most is that someone who I actually really want to support may have felt worse in an already difficult situation because of my careless and very inappropriate and gross and stupid behavior.”

Klein went on to claim that directly after the stream, he apologized to both QT and Ludwig, her partner and a fellow streamer, in Twitter DMs, although it doesn’t seem as though he’s received a response from them at the time of writing.

Klein then posited that his behavior may have been a result of his Tourettes syndrome, saying, “I think it’s a bit of a cop out. I think I have control over these things. I feel I do. But I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with it.”

Klein wrapped up his apology by offering to get her in contact with his own legal counsel, as well as offering funding to help fight against the deepfake website.