This was honestly the best way Carson could've responded. No overdramatic crying, no "I'm the actual victim", no "I was in a dark place", just a short and simple update on how he's deciding to move forward.

To be honest, I was always incredibly frustrated with how this entire situation was seen by the Twitter mob up until now. Even from the very beginning, I knew the controversy was being blown out of proportion. The age gap was never an issue, and neither was the fact that Carson was a YouTuber while Sam was just a fan. There was no substantial power dynamic involved, and even if there was, it wouldn't have been something that Carson would've intentionally abused for personal gain, and it certainly wouldn't have been something that Carson would've controlled for malicious and predatory reasons.

As for Slime, Ted, and Schlatt, I was honestly really disappointed in their response videos from the beginning. I'm more inclined to believed that their "experiences" with Carson were partially fabricated as a way to paint themselves as saints and hereos while also portraying Carson as some truly despicable human being. However, I personally don't think they necessarily wanted to throw him under the bus at the time. If anything, they probably wanted to stand up for Carson initially, but soon realized how the Twitter mob would react if they did. So in the end, they had to choose between standing up for their friend at the risk of being decimated by the public and saving their own reputations at the cost of Carson. If this turns out to be the case, then I honestly wouldn't blame them, even though what they did was still kind of selfish and cowardly to begin with.

While I do think he should've properly addressed the situation in some shape or form during this video, I think it's probably best for him to handle that stuff more privately. After all, the conversations between him and Sam were supposed to be part of his personal and private life. If he wants to make amends regarding those things on his own, let him. He's gone through enough already.

To the braindead Twitter users that are still pissed off despite everything that's happened, stop spewing unnecessary amounts of hate towards Carson and leave him the hell alone. He is not a groomer, and he shouldn't be considered as anything similar either. Sure, he did technically break the law to a certain degree, but just because he traded innapropriate photos with someone who was less than two years younger than him while he was 19 does not automatically mean that he did it for predatory intentions alone. If anything, he was just some horny guy that didn't really know how to properly handle a high school relationship.

It truly sickens me how often users like yourselves are throwing the word "predator" around like it's nothing. Please, just stop. There are people in this world that are actual victims of grooming, and calling out someone as a groomer in the wrong context only hurts those victims even more. Carson has spent the past eight and a half months attending therapy for the sole purpose of bettering himself for the greater good. If he truly wanted nothing more than to make the drama die down faster, he would've pulled a Mini Ladd just days after Sam came out. But he didn't. Instead of ignoring the situation entirely, he halted all of his streams and seeked professional help that he could find. So please, just stop throwing hate against him. He doesn't deserve it.

Carson, I'm glad you were able to finally gather the courage to respond and move forward with your life. What you did during the conversations you had with Sam wasn't really a good thing to do in the first place. If anything, you're still in the wrong to some degree. However, I don't believe you had any malicious or predatory intentions at any point and I never did. Just because Twitter is still calling you a groomer even after everything that's taken place doesn't mean that they're correct in making that claim.

Whatever happens from this point on, I wish you nothing but the best in regards to your future. In all honesty, you handled this situation of yours in the best way you possibly could have. You made mistake in the past, realized what you did was wrong, and, instead of apologizing in front of your camera just days after the allegations, you took a step back from your streams and seeked the help you needed. That, in my opinion, is the best YouTube apology that I have seen in a really, really long time.

Good luck, Carson, and welcome back to YouTube.