YACHT Apologize for Sex Tape Hoax
YACHT‘s Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans have released a new statement apologizing for both their “sex tape” hoax as well as their explanation statement released yesterday afternoon. “We take full responsibility for what has happened, and we are truly sorry,” they wrote. “We know we’ve broken a bond of trust with many of our fans and friends. Thank you to those that called us out and helped us to understand the gravity of the mistake we made.” They added, “We should not have hinged this entire project on the fiction that we were the victims of a leaked tape, and we’re equally disappointed in ourselves for taking so long to get over being shocked at the response and write this apology.”
On Monday, Bechtolt and Evans posted on Facebook describing the alleged leak of a film they had made for private use. They claimed the video had been stolen by a “morally abject person,” and said “we have commenced legal proceedings against the aforementioned person.” A few hours later, they announced that they would legally sell the tape through a newly launched website.
“We have always operated under the principle of doing our best to maintain dignity and a commitment to openness and truth, both on stage and off,” Bechtolt and Evans wrote. They also wrote, “We hope you understand that this is not a delicious scandal. This is an exploitation.”
Yesterday, it was revealed that the entire thing was a hoax.
Bechtolt and Claire Evans subsequently released a statement explaining the thinking behind the stunt. “It’s a project that allowed us to play with science fiction, the attention economy, clickbait journalism, and celebrity sex tapes all at once,” they wrote. “This was not designed to make money or sell records, but to explore the intersection of privacy, media, and celebrity.”
The explanation also said: “We never make light of victims of any form of sexual abuse. Frankly, it’s disturbing to us that press outlets could make the incredibly irresponsible leap from ‘celebrity sex tape,’ which is the cultural trope this project explicitly references, to ‘revenge porn,’ which is unfunny, disgusting, morally repugnant, and completely unrelated. Even within the fictional narrative we created, there was no violence or exploitation. It was always about agency and proactive empowerment.”
Now, they have apologized for that statement as well. “We’re sorry for our shitty non-apology yesterday,” they wrote today. “There’s no justifying it. We clearly didn’t get it then. We get it now.”
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