After several days of silence and mounting negative press, the company issued a handful of contradictory follow-up Tweets. One unsigned tweet expressed that YouTube did not consider Crowder’s “lispy fag” videos to be harassment; another said that the channel would be demonetized due to links to t-shirts for sale bearing an anti-gay slur, and another that further unknown changes would be necessary to resume the channel's monetization. But monetization was never the full issue; because YouTube shares so little ad revenue with creators, the bulk of a creator’s income generally comes from merchandise or crowdfunding on other sites. The problem was that YouTube allowed a user to engage in targeted harassment for years in the first place.

Finally, the company issued two lengthier statements. One, anonymously attributed to “The YouTube Team,” claimed that the company would generally prohibit “videos alleging that a group is superior in order to justify discrimination.”

Another statement, attributed to YouTube’s head of communications Chris Dale, directly referenced the current controversy. But instead of committing to a ban on abusive behavior, Dale instead provided guidance for users wishing to engage in harassment.

According to Dale, YouTube will continue to allow “racial, homophobic, or sexist epithets” as long as they are not “the primary purpose of the video.”

(When reached for comment, YouTube Policy Communications Manager Alex Joseph directed them. to company statements already online, and has not yet responded to follow-up questions.)

“They have a monopoly,” said Lindsay Amer, creator of Queer Kid Stuff. “There’s really nowhere else to go. It sucks to have to rely on a platform that doesn’t value you.”

The response disappointed but did not surprise queer YouTubers.

“It's a real shame that YouTube doesn't support people who are bullied on the platform,” vlogger Arielle Scarcella wrote to them. “I, too, have been a victim of it. Carlos is on another level of it though.”

“Anti-LGBT ads, restricted mode, demonetization, age restricting and shadowbanning of LGBT content have always been a problem,” wrote Amp, one of the co-hosts of the sex education channel Watt’s the Safeword. “But the way in which the guidelines don't get applied to those who harass LGBT creators is a new low. I personally feel gross using a platform that is so hypocritical.”

Like many queer creators who use YouTube to reach their audience, Amp says that Watt’s the Safeword constantly sees videos age-restricted, disqualified from monetization, and thumbnails removed for unknown reasons.

I too have felt that frustration. On my own YouTube channel, I produce a series called Culture Cruise, where I dissect queer episodes of television. Just last week, I posted a video discussing a 1974 episode of the sitcom Maude that featured one of the first gay characters on American television. Without notifying me, YouTube silently removed monetization from the video, declaring it unsuitable for advertisers; when I noticed and appealed a few days later, monetization was mysteriously restored. This is a near-constant battle I experience with about half of the videos I upload.

What’s more: Despite blocking homophobic ads from appearing on my channel, viewers inform me that such ads continue to run.

At this point, many creators are simply resigned to being let down by the company. “Capitalism requires exploitation and LGBT creators are actively exploited by YouTube,” wrote Kat Blaque. “YouTube doesn't truly have a bone in the fight against anti-LGBT discrimination. Only so far as they can make money from it.”

Maybe that’s because YouTube has hijacked the market for online video, leaving no viable alternatives. “They have a monopoly,” said Lindsay Amer, creator of Queer Kid Stuff. “There’s really nowhere else to go. It sucks to have to rely on a platform that doesn’t value you.”

It’s particularly galling given the season: This month marks fifty years since the Stonewall Riots, which galvanized the modern queer liberation movement. YouTube has adopted a rainbow logo for the month, even as they provide guidance for using their platform to engage in homophobic harassment. The company also released an hour-long documentary about Pride.

“YouTube is, at the end of the day, a corporation that will paint a rainbow flag on its website every day, but will never truly draw a line in the sand that says people who are homophobic cannot publish content on their website,” wrote Blaque.

“I support Googlers, but I don't think the company deserves our applause,” Blaque wrote.

“It’s rainbow capitalism,” said Amer.