For the first time, American expat YouTuber My Mate Nate responded Saturday to the online rage he received from both Thais and expats for filming his cats fighting a scorpion—the video for which he is under police investigation for animal cruelty.
In a 20-minute video, Nate Bartling, or My Mate Nate, does not apologize for the actions that made him an online object for hatred for the content of his influential YouTube channel. Instead, he questioned why this has to be such a big deal in his latest video titled: “Drama again… I’ll explain.”
“I made a mistake. It’s a small issue. Why does it have to be a big drama? If only we could spend our time doing something creative rather than ruining other people’s lives… some people contacted our sponsors, asking them to go against us. Is it that much of a big deal that a cat got its mouth clipped by a scorpion?” Bartling said in his latest Thai-language video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwOhgziWaUQ
This came after True, a telecommunications company that hired Bartling to promote their services, issued a statement that they have asked the expat to remove content sponsored by them.
A big deal or not, a petition demanding that Thai authorities charge the 23-year-old with animal cruelty also has received over 130,000 signatures since last week.
READ: Celebrity cat Facebook page attempting to get ‘My Mate Nate’ charged with animal cruelty
Meanwhile, Makkasan police told Coconuts today that they have taken over the investigation from Huai Khwang police, after celebrity cat lady Nutch Prasopsin, who runs the Facebook page “Kingdom of Tigers,” filed a complaint against the expat on Friday.
The police said that the case is under investigation, but no charges have yet been pressed against Bartling.
Responding to allowing his cats to fight a scorpion, Bartling said that he only wanted to “teach his cats a lesson,” like a good parent, adding he bought the scorpion from a food vendor on Khaosan Road and his cats were not harmed.
“I considered this parenting. If parents protect their child from everything, they won’t know when the danger comes. I know that this scorpion isn’t poisonous, so I thought it was an opportunity to teach my cats a lesson that they should not play with a scorpion… I had no intention to harm my cats,” he said.
As the drama escalated, Bartling also posted a status yesterday that some people are trying “ruin his life.”
“Having someone try to ruin my life, my career, my workmates, my family… is weird,” he wrote.
As the online community pointed at his immigration status, Bartling responded that he works for a company in Thailand, has a work permit, and pays taxes in both Thailand and the U.S.
Not only that, he said has done so many great things for Thailand.
“We teach people so much about science. We know we have many followers, both adults and children. We give them knowledge, not just entertainment. We help so many companies. I know that some of the companies do not have money, so we help them without receiving any money. My followers know that.”
Last of all, he’s not going anywhere: “If I go home and escape the problem, how am I gonna set an example to my followers? I can’t escape. I have to be here and take responsibility for what I’ve done.”
Related:
Celebrity cat Facebook page attempting to get ‘My Mate Nate’ charged with animal cruelty
Sadistic American expat YouTuber ‘My Mate Nate’ films cats fighting scorpion
Why ‘My Mate Nate’ is the most hated farang at the moment
In latest video, My Mate Nate tortures animal instead of making fun of Thai people
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