Quote from ERA, but this post sums up the video pretty well so you don't have to watch it
I just watched the video and I'm impressed. It's a great example of a PR crafted statement meant to deflect and portray the subject as the victim. And it's working wonderfully, even among jaded era members lol.
- Make an appeal to the emotional side by telling everyone that you made a great sacrifice by donating your mother's organs to science and research.
- Provide answers and receipts for things nobody was asking for (Who the strawberry float was arguing about whether OHF was a private foundation or a public charity?? obviously that was not the issue at all!)
- Explain why you didn't donate the money until he was called out for it with a "oops, my bad. SOWWY"
- Provide the total amounts fundraised for one specific year, and then get fuzzy about the others (It was COVID, you guys! and then people took so long to send the money we had to declare it the next fiscal year!).
- Casually mention that the Golf Tournament was to "bring awareness" instead of fundraising (all those signs saying it benefitted the OHF were a "clerical error" too, I guess).
- Once again, backtrack about how ALL the money was going to be donated by now claiming that all these events cost a lot, and obviously it had to be paid from the fundraised money (As passionate as Jirard is about this, he seems to be very reluctant to put his own money where his mouth is. It's easier to be charitable with other people's money, I guess)
- Provide some figures about 2023's fundraised money. Still not give an answer about whether they're going to donate this money.
- Claim that all is above board (without providing receipts about this, fancy that) and if there are any "mistakes", they're just "clerical errors". And by the way guys, I'm not in the charity board anymore. But everything is super duper fine and that's not cause for concern at all.
- Get indignant about people besmirching your reputation and your family's good name. Threaten to sue for *checks notes* being accused of not donating fundraised money that he's on record claiming was being donated and *checks notes again* for noting that there are many inconsistencies with the money declared and the actual money fundraised, aka FRAUD.
*Edited for typos and because there were so many hilarious statements that I forgot a few.
This has done very little to convince me of anything, in fact, the very rehearsed and calculated nature of this statement makes me distrust him even more. I think it's smart that he's seeking legal counsel, don't get me wrong, but I also think that the kind of statement that one gives when they truly have nothing to hide and the kind of statement that someone who wants to keep things from coming out gives are really different, and you can guess which kind I think Jirard just made.