Transkript Lloyd Evans video - "Things are better (THANK YOU!!)"
Hello there. I'm here at RamaCrow recording some interviews and other future uploads and I just want to take a moment to sincerely thank all of you who have responded so amazingly to the video - I put out a couple of days ago regarding the financial state of the channel. When I filmed that video, we had a combined 432 supporting us as patrons and YouTube members. Which, as I explained, wasn't quite enough for us to keep going as a company. As of right now, about three days later we have 556 patrons and 110 YouTube channel members making for a combined total - and I'm not kidding here - of 666 patrons and YouTube members, which is just incredible.
Read into that number what you will. I promise I'm not making it up. As I explained before, we really needed to get to a minimum number of 500 supporting the channel on a monthly basis to break even, in other words - pay peoples wages, pay my wages, pay the owners wages, pay the insurance for the equipment, pay our company accountants fees, etc.
But ideally we needed to get back to the 620 figure, which is where we were when we hired Tibor. So for us to exceed that figure in such a short period of time is just an incredible response from our viewers. And on behalf of the whole team, I really can't thank you enough. It's extremely humbling to know that our viewers have our backs and want us to not just continue, but grow the channel as we intended, so I wanted to jump on camera and reassure you all this it's now back to business as usual.
We hear your unequivocal call to continue, and if things ever get dicey or uncertain again, it's extremely heartening to know that we can just let you all know about the situation and leave things in your hands.
I do just want to say a quick word about the defamation campaign as mentioned in my video. Some of you will have noticed I pinned a comment saying that I would automatically and unashamedly delete all abusive mean toxic victim blaming comments along the lines of get a job. Or it's all your fault anyway. I stand by that comment, not because I'm trying to shut people down or sweep anything under the rug. Obviously, viewers are free to respectfully disagree with me on any opinion I express in any of my videos. And the comments sections of any video I make will bear evidence of this.
But when it comes to rude, hateful, invasive comments where people usually from the luxury of total anonymity or inserting themselves in my personal life and claiming to know what I have or haven't done in private better than me, I really must draw the line.
I think most mature adults understand that nobody is perfect and that we all make mistakes. My mistake was to be unfaithful to my partner and I'll always be sorry about that.
But as I've said before, nobody deserves to be bullied, harassed and character assassinated across multiple social media platforms simply for being human.
I've had fake e-mail circulated implicating me, a father of two girls, as a sexual predator who grooms teenage girls. I was accused of being involved in sex tourism simply for choosing Thailand as a holiday destination during a mental health crisis. I've had packages sent to my home containing books with titles such as Leave a Cheetah gain a life. Friends and colleagues have been emailed and pressured to have nothing more to do with me. I've done interviews that got taken down or never saw the light of day because the channel or journalist was inundated with complaints. People have left menacing voice mails. Multiple videos have been made portraying me as a monster, including some calling for me to be reported to the police.
My video editor has been stalked and had copies of his college thesis posted online.
Most recently, the owner of a Zagreb wine bar where I host live music events received an e-mail warning her to have nothing to do with me.
This behaviour, and I've only given you a small sampling of what I've been dealing with, is totally unacceptable and if I'm being completely honest, it makes me ashamed to be an ex JW and mortified at the thought of attending ex JW gatherings in the future. You can, if you want, tell me to turn the other cheek or to not take my brother to court to just let it all go. It's certainly very easy to say that when you're not on the receiving end.
But you need to understand that I give a damn about my work and my legacy. And I know that if I let this behaviour go unpunished, not only will it continue, but it will also tarnish my reputation and therefore the value of the body of my work for generations to come long after I'm dead.
My 2 girls could conceivably be forced to deal with the lies that have been spread about me if I leave these lies unanswered.
So yes, I will keep blocking the haters and I will continue with my legal action for as long as it takes. And I can't tell you how much I appreciate those of you who understand all this. And are sticking with me and showing compassion and solidarity during this intensely challenging time.
I did very recently come extremely close to packing it all in. Obviously the finances are bad, so the business was no longer looking viable anyway. But I sort of had a job offer to do a job. I know I would have hated, but at least it would have taken me away from all the JW XJW toxicity.
It was very tempting - and honestly - it would have been the easiest thing in the world, to dissolve my company, leave Tibor and Diana jobless. And just bring everything to a virtual standstill. I can specifically remember thinking, whatever happens, I don't think I have another convention season in me.
But what pulled me from the brink was a friend who's never been a Jehovah's Witness, who urged me to think about continuing my work because they could see the good it was doing.
And then I read some of the comments and messages of support. And it caused me to think. Maybe this is worth one last push, maybe I should let the viewers decide if we continue.
So when Tibor and I were in Zagreb filming last week, I filmed the video where I put all my cards on the table and here we are.
You the audience have spoken. And if you believe in me and in the amazing team I have around me and keep us at around that 500/600 hundred figure, then I'm prepared to carry on.
And for the record, I will do my very best to ignore the haters and keep focusing instead on the overwhelming majority of you who see the bigger picture and care about the work I do.
We will still be leaving RamaCrow even with the influx of new patrons and YouTube members, I want us to recover and be on a much stronger footing, before we think about renting a studio again in the future.
Just please keep in mind that you will still see RamaCrow videos for potentially months to come because we're here until at least the end of April. There are interview videos and other content being filmed that won't be going out until potentially many weeks from now, but that doesn't mean I'm going back on my word or anything like that.
RamaCrows days are numbered, but I'm fine with recording in my bedroom, for a while. And if we get a studio again at some future point, it will be because we have the finances to commit to it long term.
If you are one of the new or returning patrons or YouTube channel members, thank you again so much for coming to our rescue in our hour of need. And giving us the green light to continue. I very much look forward to seeing and meeting some of you in future live streams and zoom calls. Speaking of which, if you are having trouble accessing any of the perks for your tier of membership, please do send a message on Patreon or via the channel's GMail - which is [email protected].
Finally I also want to say a massive thank you to those of you who couldn't afford to support the channel financially, but still sent through messages of kindness, love, compassion and solidarity. I've been reading each and every one of these messages and I can't tell you how much they've meant to me.
This is without a doubt a tough gig, and doing it to the extent we're doing it can exact a very heavy toll. But you are amazing viewers have given us a resounding call to continue, so we will do exactly that.
Thank you.
And I'll see you around.