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YouTube as the Stocks: When People Are Forced to Shame Themselves on the Internet Charlie Crist's YouTube Apology Helps Set a Precedent

A new trend sees courts forcing people to apologize on YouTube.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4k13LmlcUE

Charlie Crist just got Byrned.


Crist, the former governor of Florida who then ran an unsuccessful campaign for senate, has settled a lawsuit today that accused him of using the Talking Heads song "Road to Nowhere" in a campaign ad without the band's permission. Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne subsequently filed a lawsuit against Crist, the damages of which included an apology from Crist to be broadcast to the world on YouTube. Above is that apology, which we have to imagine was written by Byrne himself (e.g. "I sincerely apologize to David Byrne for using his famous song and his unique voice in my campaign advertisement without his permission").

Surprisingly, this isn't the first time YouTube has been used as a vessel for state-sanctioned shaming. In 2009, a Missouri court forced Cassidy Harris to apologize to a police officer on YouTube after she falsely accused the officer of improper behavior. Harris was initially ordered to pay the cop $10,000, but when she couldn't come up with the money, her punishment was YouTube.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsHgI_pAxy8

And because three makes a trend, in 2008, two Florida boys were forced to apologize to their victim on YouTube after flinging a soda into her face at a Taco Bell drive-through. Alas, that video no longer exists.

The new meme: Videos in which you're forced to make an ass of yourself.

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