Content Warning: Portions of the following entry contain mentions and/or depictions of sexual violence or abuse. If you need support or you or a loved one are in an abusive situation, please contact the National Sexual Violence Resource Center or call 1-800-656-HOPE.

Overview

Andrew Callaghan Sexual Assault Allegations refers to a controversy that broke in early January 2023 following accusations from multiple women coming forward with allegations of sexual assault spanning several years by the YouTuber and content creator Andrew Callaghan from Channel 5 and All Gas No Brakes. The allegations and their closeness to the release of Callaghan's HBO documentary This Place Rules on the January 6th Capitol Riots, particularly TikToker cornbreadasserole's video on January 5th, 2023, led to intense viral debate online after they spread on platforms like TikTok, Twitter and Reddit, among others.

Background

Sexual assault allegations aimed at Andrew Callaghan had been previously posted in isolated instances between 2020 and 2021, though these did not generate notable viral discussions. On June 10th, 2020, the Instagram^[1] account belonging to user @plantpuketattoos made one prominent accusation in which she detailed a purported personal accounting of a night in which Callaghan allegedly tried multiple times to hook up with her friend who stated she wasn't interested (shown below, left). She later posted another Instagram Story with an accounting she claimed was sent to her by someone else who was allegedly assaulted by him in Seattle (shown below, right).

2023 Allegations / Cornbreadasserole's TikTok Video

On January 5th, 2023, TikToker^[5] cornbreadasserole (Caroline Elise) uploaded an account of their own with sexual assault accusations against Andrew Callaghan, tagging it as "TW: SA" (trigger warning, sexual assault), which was also reposted to their Twitter.^[2] In the TikTok video, Elise detailed that Callaghan allegedly abused them one night by climbing into their bed, breaking them down and ultimately getting consent but against their will (reupload seen below following Elise's account going private).

Y’all… Andrew Callaghan (Channel 5/All Gas No Brakes) allegation just dropped pic.twitter.com/yblMB7ylee

— care-oh (@babytriggy) January 5, 2023

The TikTok video from Elise ultimately received over 90,000 views in five days and subsequently spread to numerous other social media sites when people began reposting it. For example, Twitter^[6] user babytriggy shared Elise's video on the evening of January 5th, 2023, accumulating over 1.2 million views and sparking a viral discussion about Callaghan's alleged assault that prompted others to share their own accounts of purported abuse.

Online Reactions

Over the following days, the accusations against Andrew Callaghan began to rapidly spread online to various social media platforms, generating viral debates and backlash online. For example, on January 9th, 2023, Twitter^[8] user EliotETC posted one such tweet expressing their disappointment with Callaghan, receiving over 1,400 likes in 15 hours (seen below, top). Others who supported or defended Callaghan also cast doubt on the accusations, such as Twitter^[9] user ClaudiaBrown100 that same day, receiving over 70 likes in 20 hours (seen below, bottom).

On January 9th, 2023, Reddit users began to post about threads on the Channel 5 subreddit /r/Channel5ive purportedly getting deleted when asking questions about the sexual assault allegations or when posting about alleged evidence that had been gathered and collected from prior accusations. For example, that same day, Twitter^[3] user @NathanielKFoley^[3] tweeted about his experience in dealing with the subreddit, calling it "damage control" in a sentiment echoed by others, receiving over 100 likes in roughly 19 hours (shown below).

On January 10th, Redditor magikarpower then made a thread on /r/Channel5ive^[7] under the title "All Andrew Callaghan Allegations Summarized" in which they posted a comprehensive list with links to the various sources of people making sexual assault accusations against Callaghan. In 10 hours, the post received over 410 upvotes and 173 comments.

The accusations were also prominent on TikTok in early January 2023, with various users posting videos reacting to the news, discussing the allegations, etc. (examples shown below).

On January 10th, 2023, media outlets also began reporting on the story regarding the alleged sexual assault by Callaghan, including sites such as Dexerto^[10] and Sportskeeda.^[11]

Documentary Timing

Though Andrew Callaghan has not made an official response to any of the allegations as of January 10th, 2023, followers and fans of his have made responses of their own, with many of these asking for hard evidence, as well as calling into question what some felt was the "suspiciously convenient timing" of the allegations coming out shortly after Callaghan had released a documentary criticizing the mainstream media for its alleged role in the January 6th Insurrection — citing his public appearance on CNN as one prominent example. Callaghan's interview was reuploaded to Twitter^[4] by user @brenonade on December 19th, 2022, in which Callaghan criticized the business model of CNN, gaining over 8.5 million views and 90,000 likes in two weeks (shown below).

Andrew Callaghan on CNN: "Even CNN competes for views by running constant 24hr news cycles based upon fear, division, outrage & panic, probably like to sell ads."Don Lemon: "I don't agree with what you're saying." pic.twitter.com/JpZoxeeTD4

— Brennan Murphy (@brenonade) December 19, 2022

Apology Video

On January 15th, 2023, Callaghan released an apology video to his Instagram page addressing the recent controversy (shown below). In the video, he expressed "complete sympathy, respect, and support for anyone I've done wrong by" and said he wants to "do better and be fully accountable for everything that I've done." He stated that he was not aware of the pattern he'd engaged in, and noted that his initial silence was due to his shock caused by the allegations.

He also said, "I want to be fully responsible for not having a fluid understanding of consent and what enthusiastic two-way consent looks like." He then pledged to go to therapy and Alcoholics Anonymous.

Online, reactions from many social media users were not charitable to Callaghan's apology. For example, on January 16th, Twitter user @KesagakeOK^[12] wrote, "Andrew Callaghan's 'apology' video downplays what he did, provides contradictory statements, and flat out ignores some of the worst accusations against him. Nobody should be buying his disingenuous bullshit, he just doesn't want to suffer the consequences for his actions" (shown below, left). That same day, user @montypythong then bemoaned that Callaghan would likely not face consequences thanks to the apology, even if, in their opinion, it wasn't sufficient^[13] (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External References