Linus Tech Tips’ ‘Trust Me Bro’ Controversy Explained

The phrase ‘Trust Me Bro’ has already solidified its position as a meme, and now brands are trying their best to use the term for monetization. Linus Tech Tips, the YouTube channel known for its techie videos, is the recent brand to hop onto the bandwagon.

However, the merchandise came with a cost and a backstory. Fans began to wonder if the ‘Trust Me Bro Warranty’ t-shirts were making fun of those who asked for a formal warranty on the brand’s backpacks.

Linus even talks about the merch in their WAN podcast. So, let’s learn more about LTT and its recent controversies.

What Is LTT?

Linus Tech Tips is a technology-focused YouTube channel with 15.4 million subscribers and over 6.5k videos. According to their YouTube page, “Linus Tech Tips is a passionate team of ‘professionally curious’ experts in consumer technology and video production who aim to educate and entertain.”

LTT is a flagship channel for Linus Media Group that dabbles in tech news, unboxings, reviews, and more. They also have a podcast named ‘The Wan Show.’

Linus Sebastian established the LTT channel in November 2008. He has an estimated net worth of $85 million and makes the majority of his profit from ad revenue, video sponsors, merch sales, and affiliate marketing.

The company has been facing backlash due to some recent incidents. On August 14, another gaming review channel posted a video blaming LTT for incorrectly reviewing some GPU and CPU. Sebastian uploaded a 20-minute video to apologize for not retesting the products and paused uploads for a week to improve the quality and accuracy of their content.

In another recent case, Madison Reeve, the former social media manager of LTT, tweeted that she was inappropriately grabbed in the office and coworkers had made sexual and demeaning comments towards her. The company then posted a statement that it is taking Madison’s allegations into account.

What Is the Linus Trust Me Bro Controversy?

LTT launched a tech backpack that costs $249.99. Due to the high pricing of the bag, fans asked for a formal warranty, to which Linus replied that support would help despite the absence of a warranty. Linus’ reply made people start making fun of it by saying it is a ‘Trust Me Bro’ warranty. Thus, The entire thing started.

On an X thread, Linus commented that their customers “just need to send in a ticket, and we will make them happy.” He further commented that a warranty means nothing if he just folded a company.

The tweet snowballed as people began to criticize his way of wording. Fans wondered how Linus could sell a 250-dollar backpack with no warranty at all. Despite Linus telling people to contact support and raise a ticket, people complained that a tweet was not good enough and a warranty should be listed on the website.

Linus himself admitted that he could have handled it better but says that the controversy will blow over six months later when he says something even more outrageous. The company later formalized the warranty and gave it the ‘Trust Me Bro’ name.

In fact, the company even began selling t-shirts with the ‘Trust Me Bro Warranty’ printed on them.

This made many followers mad as it felt like mocking fans who were buying the products. People claim that Linus is making fun of concerned buyers who want a warranty.

However, many fans of the brand also believe the t-shirt came out of a pure sarcastic joke. Linus got the idea of the t-shirts from a comment on a community thread where a user said they would buy a ‘Trust Me Bro’ T-shirt.

Nonetheless, most people agree that the T-shirts and the sarcastic naming of the warranty were a bad move for the company. A legitimate product concern should not lead to jokes on the part of the manufacturer.

So, what do you think of the controversy? Is Linus’ merchandising out of the line, or is it just simple fun?

Tell us in the comments below.