When a former employee of one of YouTube’s biggest tech channels goes viral for quitting, the fallout is rarely confined to one video.
A former Linus Tech Tips employee recently published a video criticizing the working conditions at the company. Linus Sebastian’s public response was unusual, to say the least.
Ex-Linus Tech Tips Employee Speaks Out
The former staffer Jake Tivy has released a video on his YouTube channel, jakkuh, in which he criticizes the working conditions at Linus Media Group, particularly in terms of compensation. According to Tivy, his salary remained unchanged for more than three years despite rising living costs.
He explained that the lack of financial progression became increasingly difficult to justify, especially given the cost of living in Vancouver:
“After 3 plus years of my total comp remaining effectively the same, while affordability was getting worse and worse, especially in Vancouver, one of the least affordable areas to live in the world, you kind of start thinking while you’re working on your boss’s third house, if you’re ever going to be able to buy a house.”
In addition to pay concerns, Tivy claims that the company’s work culture and internal workflows changed significantly over the years, contributing to his decision to leave.
Naturally, Linus Tech Tips founder Linus Sebastian felt compelled to address the accusations, though he did so in a rather unconventional manner.
Linus’ Joking Response Leaves Fans Divided
With a post on X on February 6th, Linus released the first piece of what would turn out to be a series of responses. The post read: “Why I Left Linus Media Group. New video on my personal channel,” followed by a link. However, instead of leading to his channel, the link redirected viewers to a classic Rickroll video, making it clear that Linus was approaching the situation with humor.
When a fan pointed out that this reaction could be perceived negatively, Linus replied:
“I’m curious if you’re concerned that you might not be that fun at parties.”
Another X user suggested that Linus likely did not care much about the drama surrounding him, to which he responded:
“I checked my wallet. I checked my bank account. I checked all three of my houses. There were no [concerns] left in any of them.”
Following this exchange, one user commented:
“I can't understand if this exchange is friendly or bitter.”
Linus replied:
“Maybe none of it matters and people need to chillax and enjoy the content on both channels.”
While Linus repeatedly joked about the situation, there appears to be no public bad blood between the two parties. However, his unconventional way of addressing the controversy clearly caught many people off guard, especially considering that this is not the first time his company has come under suspicion of fostering a toxic workplace. A former staffer made similar claims in 2024, although those accusations could not be proven.
Under these circumstances, the question arises whether humor was really the right response?
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
