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Smash Player ZeRo accused of Harassment by Jisu and sending sexual messages to Katie when she was 14 years old [Up: ZeRo Attempts Suicide]
- Thread starter WildEagle18
- Start date
After reading ZeRo's story...
I'm not sure I believe all the personal history unless something can corroborate it.
That's the issue when someone shows they lie or are misleading. They next thing they say immediately comes under scrutiny.
Even within the apology he lied.
He found out she was 14 and kept flirting, literally in the pics he posted. He wasn't "disgusted" or any word he used.
After immediately lying several times in the paragraphs prior, it's hard to 100%believe what comes after, no?
I'm not sure I believe all the personal history unless something can corroborate it.
That's the issue when someone shows they lie or are misleading. They next thing they say immediately comes under scrutiny.
Even within the apology he lied.
He found out she was 14 and kept flirting, literally in the pics he posted. He wasn't "disgusted" or any word he used.
After immediately lying several times in the paragraphs prior, it's hard to 100%believe what comes after, no?
It's the same thing as the brony dilemma. By virtue of the fact that the work is already aimed at a younger audience it unfortunately gives predators easier access.
Do you have to forgive ZeRo? On failing the community, it's on you. On what he did to the victims, that has to come from the victims, not you.
Is it excusable? No, that doesn't save him, he did something wrong. He has to atone what he did.
For me, it will take time to think positives of him again, but he must take responsibility, and I hope he gets to be better over time.
Also, you need to understand the situation at hand. That house has a lot of shit behind and if you come from a bad childhood and enter a house where a bunch of drama, problems and harassment happen, that molds you, this is a mistake ZeRo made joining that house instead of going somewhere better, he was already in a bad state, this is also a problem also that Sky house created.
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So does is Pokemon yet I haven't heard of Pokemon events having this kind of problem. Pokemon(games and TCG) official tournaments are actually divided by group ages, have alcohol bans and it seen to require children to be with a chaperone.
Replying with "Yea why only do that" after she just told him her age is wild. I do believe everything the victim said in her statement.
I've never seen a community fully implode in itself like this. Like, it's not a couple figures, it's like almost half of the prominent figures, what the fuck!
Can't believe there was a time I heavily followed Smash and all of these names were so common to me as if they were IRL friends.
Fuck all of this. Burn this scene to the ground and try to rebuild with what's left.
Can't believe there was a time I heavily followed Smash and all of these names were so common to me as if they were IRL friends.
Fuck all of this. Burn this scene to the ground and try to rebuild with what's left.
Him spending more time justifying why he is like that (as tragic a story as that is) rather than owning up to what he did, acknowledging what he did exactly and apologizing makes the story feel emotionally manipulative to me.
Even his acknowledgement has excuses in there.
Even his acknowledgement has excuses in there.
Parents should teach their kids that kind of stuff and I don't get how parents let their kids go unsupervised and alone but lots of them are just ignorant about the dangers of internet, it's just not that they can get groomed sexually but they also can get scammed and other kind of stuff.
The story is not new, he has opened up about it before. Dude can only talk about Smash Bros so much in his channel.
Pokémon events are also official. Ironically, Nintendo actually running Smash's competitive scene themselves would have probably kept these trash predators out. We'd have a very different landscape of "pro" players.
So...is it wrong if I were to feel sympathy for Jisu, Katie AND Zero?
Rather than view him including his dark history in his statement as a way to "gain sympathy", why not accept it at face value that the purpose was to let everyone know that he was messed up? Had he physically assaulted any of these girls, yeah, throw him behind bars and throw the keys away. But being socially awkward and saying or doing outrageous things to rile people up shouldn't end with him being cancelled. I was a teenager once and I remember saying stupid and awkward shit just to get attention, IT HAPPENS. That's the whole point of growing up and learning from your mistakes. I see some posts here that are essentially saying "apologize now" and when he does apologize, its "yeah a little late for that".
TEENAGERS DO STUPID SHIT. That's why that term "kids are so stupid" has been a thing. This generation we have teens eating tiepods, my generation of teens was getting into gangs and drinking and doing drugs. Well, drinking and doing drugs is still a thing with teens TODAY...but in the 90s, we didn't have social media to enable us to do even dumber shit.
I can relate to Zero in the sense that I was socially awkward around girls. Did I ever ask an underage girl to touch herself? No. Did I ever say stupid shit to a girl (because of ill informed advice that "You should pretend you don't care, that's how you get her to like you")? Absolutely. But do those moments define me? NO. I grew up and changed. I saw my past mistakes and learned. Once again, TEENS DO STUPID THINGS.
I REFUSE to believe every member here were little angels when they were in their pre-teen to teenage years.
Look, I don't know about anyone else, but from my experience (I'm 40), someone with a fucked up childhood like his tend to grow up and develop a certain perspective on life and it affects their societal behavior. As a person that grew up in a normal environment where my father didn't beat the living daylights out of my mom and destroying what a family should be, whenever I interact with someone that's had a rough childhood and acts a certain way, my first thought would be "wtf is wrong with this person?".
That's not to say EVERY person with a rough childhood will grow up "weird" or "socially awakward"...but we need to remember that everyone responds differently to trauma.
I'm not defending Zero. I want people to stop casting stones and to look at the bigger picture. What Zero said to Katie is inappropriate as fuck. But he was a kid going through arrested development. He should feel bad, and he's apologized, publicly. What he said to Jisu, i truly believe he did it for shock value and wasn't aware of the harm it caused. But he was a kid. When kids get groomed into sex acts with adults, it's because they didn't know any better. The same goes for when a kid, whose already socially awkward, says despicable things to someone. And when you're surrounded by other socially awkward individuals that have toxic views of women, I can see someone like Zero getting carried away.
My heart pains for Jisu and the things she had to experience. My fav cousin has a 4 month old daughter, and my wife and I are planning on having children. If I had a daughter, and if she ever went through what Jisu did, I'd hunt the fuckers down and destroy them. And I feel awful for Katie. Being excited to meet someone she's admired for so long, only to be objectified and participate in an inappprpriate conversation.
But Zero shouldn't be canceled. If he is sincere with his apology, then it's good enough. He's young. He's growing and learning, just like everyone else in life.
But of course if tomorrow there's a tweet about him raping a child, then fuck him.
Rather than view him including his dark history in his statement as a way to "gain sympathy", why not accept it at face value that the purpose was to let everyone know that he was messed up? Had he physically assaulted any of these girls, yeah, throw him behind bars and throw the keys away. But being socially awkward and saying or doing outrageous things to rile people up shouldn't end with him being cancelled. I was a teenager once and I remember saying stupid and awkward shit just to get attention, IT HAPPENS. That's the whole point of growing up and learning from your mistakes. I see some posts here that are essentially saying "apologize now" and when he does apologize, its "yeah a little late for that".
TEENAGERS DO STUPID SHIT. That's why that term "kids are so stupid" has been a thing. This generation we have teens eating tiepods, my generation of teens was getting into gangs and drinking and doing drugs. Well, drinking and doing drugs is still a thing with teens TODAY...but in the 90s, we didn't have social media to enable us to do even dumber shit.
I can relate to Zero in the sense that I was socially awkward around girls. Did I ever ask an underage girl to touch herself? No. Did I ever say stupid shit to a girl (because of ill informed advice that "You should pretend you don't care, that's how you get her to like you")? Absolutely. But do those moments define me? NO. I grew up and changed. I saw my past mistakes and learned. Once again, TEENS DO STUPID THINGS.
I REFUSE to believe every member here were little angels when they were in their pre-teen to teenage years.
Look, I don't know about anyone else, but from my experience (I'm 40), someone with a fucked up childhood like his tend to grow up and develop a certain perspective on life and it affects their societal behavior. As a person that grew up in a normal environment where my father didn't beat the living daylights out of my mom and destroying what a family should be, whenever I interact with someone that's had a rough childhood and acts a certain way, my first thought would be "wtf is wrong with this person?".
That's not to say EVERY person with a rough childhood will grow up "weird" or "socially awakward"...but we need to remember that everyone responds differently to trauma.
I'm not defending Zero. I want people to stop casting stones and to look at the bigger picture. What Zero said to Katie is inappropriate as fuck. But he was a kid going through arrested development. He should feel bad, and he's apologized, publicly. What he said to Jisu, i truly believe he did it for shock value and wasn't aware of the harm it caused. But he was a kid. When kids get groomed into sex acts with adults, it's because they didn't know any better. The same goes for when a kid, whose already socially awkward, says despicable things to someone. And when you're surrounded by other socially awkward individuals that have toxic views of women, I can see someone like Zero getting carried away.
My heart pains for Jisu and the things she had to experience. My fav cousin has a 4 month old daughter, and my wife and I are planning on having children. If I had a daughter, and if she ever went through what Jisu did, I'd hunt the fuckers down and destroy them. And I feel awful for Katie. Being excited to meet someone she's admired for so long, only to be objectified and participate in an inappprpriate conversation.
But Zero shouldn't be canceled. If he is sincere with his apology, then it's good enough. He's young. He's growing and learning, just like everyone else in life.
But of course if tomorrow there's a tweet about him raping a child, then fuck him.
I'd heard so much about the "Smash Gods" in the past, and that kind of talk always weirded me out. The fanbase putting people on deified pedestals because they're good at a video game.
Comments justifying the behavior or saying "well he apologized so let's move on" just, make me shutter. I don't know how you get through to these people. I don't know how you convince them that victims and the marginalized people that are often preyed upon feeling safe and respected is more important than getting to watch the person you like playing videogames well
It's just an abyss of people normalizing abuse
It's just an abyss of people normalizing abuse
Even if true, him bringing it up like that seems more like a smokescreen. If he ended it by saying something along the lines of.. based on my mistakes and in light of my own experiences with abuse...donating to such and such charity in support of victims - it would have seemed more relevant and genuine. As it is now, he seems like a really manipulative gaslighter.
for minors? Absolutely.
for young adults? Uhhhh disagree—depends on the roommates. I'm a bi NB woman (only identified as a woman atm) who shared a room with a straight guy for a year or so in our early twenties. But he was not a piece of shit and both of us are respectful human beings so like. Totally fine and was a great rooming experience, would 100% do it again.
most of the people living in the house were adults—they shoulda been able to make living decisions about what other adults to live with.
minors living there is a totally different story.
okay thanks.
Then I'm more inclined to believe it.
I thought he said he never told anyone though?
Zero lied just a few hours ago, and now he wants us to believe that he is also a victim? he shoud gtfo.
Also, what the fuck, ,it just dawned on me that she was a CHILD living with ADULTS. What the fuck???
I get the point you are trying to make but the dude engaged in pedophilia or attempted to engage in pedophilia at BEST...
If you keep that in mind and re-read your whole entire post again, I think it doesn't quite send off the message you intended it to have...
That apology was shit.
Brushed a lot of stuff under the rug and instead spends most of his time detailing some sob story, clearly designed for his fans to eat up and its working.
I'm sorry, but I have zero sympathy for the guy, he very clearly knows how to manipulate an audience going by both this and his twitlonger from last night about Jisu.
He took what was supposed to be a chance to fully own up and apologize, but instead he half assed it and ended up making it about himself by the end.
Brushed a lot of stuff under the rug and instead spends most of his time detailing some sob story, clearly designed for his fans to eat up and its working.
I'm sorry, but I have zero sympathy for the guy, he very clearly knows how to manipulate an audience going by both this and his twitlonger from last night about Jisu.
He took what was supposed to be a chance to fully own up and apologize, but instead he half assed it and ended up making it about himself by the end.
Apologies aren't magical cures for predatory behavior. You apologize when you realize you wrong someone, to the person you wronged. He apologized to the internet that wants his brand to go away AFTER being called out for being a predator. Fuck that. If this hadn't come out, he wouldn't have apologized today for anything. And certainly not to the victim. Apologies are self-reflective, not the result of pressure. It's a bullshit apology to salvage his name.
In today's society, predators don't get to apologize when they're called out and wipe the slate clean. He should be cancelled to ensure he never gets another opportunity to do this again.
I don't know why is so common to move to the house of someone you meet on the internet, maybe because I live in a relatively dangerous country where you have to be wary of everything but there is no way that me as an adult would move to a stranger house, let alone when I was a minor.
Also him "banning himself from Smash events" is laughable when he's already retired and is running a very successful YouTube channel on top of all the other money he was already sitting on.
Him not going to events anymore is quite literally the bare minimum and it's a given he would've been getting banned regardless.
Him not going to events anymore is quite literally the bare minimum and it's a given he would've been getting banned regardless.
I mean Katie and Jisu wished not cancelling the person.
No. At the same time, understand ZeRo fucked up and needs to learn, he was a moron and irresponsible, deserves the backlash. And please, empathize with Katie and Jisu's pain, they need to be treated better.
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No disrespect to them, but it isn't and shouldn't be up to them. They were victims of an abuser. They aren't unbiased, as we see routinely by abuse and trauma victims who feel blame and guilt after coming forward. Many victims and survivors also suffer from fear of backlash and retribution. Look at the toxicity of that community right now towards victims and you can see why they would be inclined to say that.
I undertand do what you mean but you are sounding really patronizing now.
The Smash community is also inclining to say the support from Nintendo is pretty much non-existent at this point, so little that, who knows if rebuilding what's left of it will bring back Nintendo's support.
This is honestly such a smart articulation of why all the recent statements from abusers mean absolutely nothing
If you commit a crime against someone, they don't decide if you are charged and tried for the crime. Victims don't get to hand wave behavior when coming forward. If they did, no child molester in America would be charged.
Cancelling in the MeToo movement isn't about "whatever the victim feels pressured to say should happen". It's about empowering survivors to come forward so we as a society can identify and culturally nullify those abusers. Again, victims often feel pressure to avoid being persecuted for coming forward. That's the entire point of the MeToo movement's strength.
I can just imagine zero with his goofy laugh typing that he'd ban himself from smash events as if he does them regularly. Mean while his fanbase thinks he is sacrificing something. See if his GF stands by him.
It's grooming. These pedophiles target kids with bad home lives or parents who aren't paying attention, and work skillfully over time to all but brainwash them.
It's up to them to accept his apology, but they shouldn't be the ones to decide if Zero is trustworthy enough to be put into this situation against with another girl.
I'd like a response to the masturbation proposition but it's otherwise a good enough apology to the screenshots we were shown. As someone who believes in restorative justice, I'm not a fan of holding a then-teen to some kind of social exile 10 or so odd years later. It's not like he Nairo'd or D1'd or Keitaro'd. I'd like to see the victims' responses and again a response to the masturbation proposition, which is by far the most heinous accusation.
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I AM IN NO WAY EXCUSING WHAT HE DID. just gotta put that in caps for emphasis before people think I'm supporting Zero.
As I've already stated, socially awkward, in a toxic place with other socially awkward individuals doesn't provide a healthy environment for anyone that doesn't have the healthiest of minds to grow up in. He fucked up, but he was a kid. What was he when this happened...19? On paper he's a legal adult, but psychologically I'm willing to bet he wasn't.
I'll repeat it again so people don't confuse me for defending him. ZERO FUCKED UP BIG TIME and needs to own up to it. But as long as his actions stopped there and didn't escalate any further, and as long as he's sincere with his apology, then hopefully the healing process can begin. NOT IN THE FORSEEABLE future of course. But I don't think he needs to be canceled. Just some time away from the scene. I genuinely don't see him as a monster.
Had he been a repeat offender like the other pedophiles in the smash community, absolutely. If more people came out and provided evidence of repeated behavior, not only will I be disappointed in the kid, but I'll be like fuck him, he needs to go to jail.
But at this current time, he did what kids his age would normally do...and that is stupid shit. Granted his stupid shit is pretty severe...but so far, at this current place of time, it didn't escalate any further. Had it reached the point where nudes were actually shared and there was physical interaction, believe me I'll be singing a different tune. As evidenced that both Jisu and Katie don't wish for him to be cancelled shows that what Zero did was incredibly stupid, inappropriate shit. But I'll say once more, he was doing stupid shit like most teenagers do.
Of course he deserves backlash. He's a public figure and when you're in the public eye, unfortunately you'll have kids looking up to you and public figures need to realize that they now have a certain responsibility...but...even more unfortunate, those same kids will defend the fuck out of him and send death threats towards the victims, which is absolutely heartbreaking.
And please, don't for a second think I don't empathize with Katie and Jisu's pain. I absolutely do. I want the assholes that raped Jisu to get the death penalty.
But for now, in this specific situation, Zero's actions should not warrant a cancellation. He's apologized. I see a kid (remember, I'm 40, he's a kid in my eyes. Not a fan of his, not subbed to his YT channel. I play smash and I know of zero and have seen a vid or two of his, that's as far as my awareness of zero goes) that made a huge mistake in his past. Thankfully it didn't escalate.
I'm old enough to be his dad. Like I mentioned earlier, I plan on being a dad in the near future...I KNOW for a fact my kid will do something INCREDIBLY stupid during his/her teen years, just as teenagers do. Do I hope my future kids actions don't involve a minor? Of course. But in zeros case, at least it stopped before it got worse. So, no, I don't think he needs to be cancelled. Some time away from the scene, sure. But just outright GTFO? No.
Straight up how much other shit has gone on at Sky's old place we don't even know about and probably will never know? This dude out here defending himself saying shit like he stayed to himself in his room during parties and doesn't know anything about shit. But like it was your fucking house and its kinda all on fucking you! I never really had a problem with Sky Williams but that dude has a lot to answer for. Clearly it was a hub for abuse.
His abuse of Jisu and Katie at different points in time makes him a repeat offender. And these are just the cases we know about.
Also, "Kids doing stupid shit" isn't an excuse when he's trying to exchange pics with a fourteen-year-old. There's a point where you have to know better, and if you don't, then you should still be held accountable, because "Kids are dumb" is not a Get Out of Jail Free card.
Just goes to show that celebrity worship in all forms is cancerous. Especially when the fans tend to be so young.
This is semantics no? Then by law, he'll just get a warning because if his accounts are to be believed, no nudes were exchanged and he didn't engage in physical sexual interaction.
Turning 19, let alone 18, doesn't all of a sudden make the individual wise or aware. It's literally a number on a document. But this dudes childhood fucked him up that it greatly affected his development as a young adult. Does it excuse his behavior? ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT. But as long he is genuinely apologetic and uses his mistakes to further improve himself, I don't see what's wrong with that.
Yes, this right here.
In all of my posts, I've never tried to look at the other side for nairo, D1, keitaro. Because they ACTUALLY ENGAGED in sex with a minor. There's no coming back from that. They deserve jail time, they deserve the worst things coming to them.