Julien Blanc has delivered an apology in the wake of controversy surrounding his dubious “pick-up” tips.
Blanc told CNN host Chris Cuomo: “I’d like to apologise to anyone I’ve offended in any way. It was never my intention and I just want to put it out there. I’m extremely sorry for everything that happened.”
Cuomo remarked: “You seem noticeably nervous,” to which Blanc conceded “You’ve read the headlines.”
Those headlines reference Blanc’s “professional material”, including one filmed seminar where he tells a room full of laughing men: “At least in Tokyo, if you’re a white male, you can do what you want. I’m just romping through the streets, just grabbing girls’ heads, just like, head, pfft on the dick. Head, on the dick, yelling, ‘pikachu,’ with a Pikachu shirt.”
Blanc works for Real Social Dynamics, a business that profits from what the Washington Post described as a "growing online subculture of men’s rights activists and pick-up artists."
Julien Blanc
The group charges £1,250 for bootcamps and between £120 and £330 for various dating 'services' packages and for this chunky sum he has the following guarantee: "Become a true 'pimp', with the highest abundance of hot women in the shortest amount of time, or your money back. No questions asked."
RSD's website is advertising a "bootcamp" to teach the firm's techniques in London starting on November 27.
“It’s Offensive, It’s Inappropriate, It’s Emotionally Scarring, BUT IT’S DAMN EFFECTIVE,” Blanc says of his techniques on his Web site, PimpingMyGame.com where he advises men on how to “develop panty-dropping masculinity”.
He also launched a hashtag #ChokingGirlsAroundTheWorld, with which he tweets footage of himself doing exactly that: choking women around the world.
Querying whether Blanc’s apology was genuine, Cuomo highlighted to an "ugly" picture of Blanc holding a T-shirt which reads: “Diss Fatties Bang Hotties.”
This image was allegedly posted to Instagram by Blanc with the caption: “May as well be a checklist… #HowToMakeHerStay”
Blanc pleaded: “My intentions were never bad, it was a horrible attempt at humour and unfortunately a lot of it was taken out of context.
“I 100 per cent take responsibility. I apologise 100 per cent for it. I'm extremely sorry.
”I feel horrible, I'm not going to be happy if I feel like I'm the most hated man in the world. I’m overwhelmed by the way people are responding.”
Blanc attempted to stand his ground, insisting: "I teach guys how to gain confidence. Most of them are socially awkward. I teach guys how to gain confidence in order to socialise with women and perhaps get into a relationship with a woman.
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"To be honest a lot of my clients do meet their spouses on these programmes."
Cuomo incredulously asked: "You think men meet women and get into meaningful relationships based on the tips you give them?", to which Blanc giggled and replied: "More than you'd think," adding he received emails of thanks, wedding invites and that "people are just eternally grateful."
Addressing the images of him choking women and the footage of him encouraging men to push women's faces into their crotches, Blanc said: "That's where a lot of the confusion is coming from... With those photos there, of choking women, I want to make it clear that is not what I teach. Those pictures were a horrible, horrible attempt of humour. They were also taken out of context, in a way,
"You can make anything look bad in a picture. Those girls were girls I was hanging out with during my time there. I did place my hand physically around their neck, I did not choke them... I wanted to provoke a shock... which it did but for all the wrong reasons."
Of the "Power & Control" chart he posted (above), he denied using it in his seminars, adding: "This is so far in the opposite direction of what I teach that I stupidly thought mocking it would be funny, but it wasn't and I regret putting that out."