'Allow me to explain why this man is crying after a woman said no to being on his podcast.'

If you've seen this man crying on your TikTok feed, allow us to explain what the hell is going on.

Picture this: You're a woman who regularly posts about feminism and gender issues on TikTok. One day, you receive voice messages from two men you've never met, wanting to "have a chat" about your "opinions about men". Would you:

a) Jump at the chance to educate these strangers, b) Politely decline and suggest some resources, c) Wonder why this keeps happening to women online?

If you chose b), congratulations — you're Jordan Tan, a Perth-based model and content creator who found herself in exactly this situation.

The story begins with Jordan receiving what can only be described as a well-intentioned but deeply misguided invitation from two men, one of whom was podcaster Jack McIntosh.

The men, who describe themselves as being "in the space of mindset, mental health," sent voice messages suggesting they meet up to discuss Jordan's perspectives on men.

Watch: Jordan Tan on the message she received from two men. Post continues after video.

Their message included the somewhat patronising comment that they were sure she wouldn't "want to feel that way [about men] for the rest of [her] life" — because apparently, having feminist views is just a phase!!

The voice memo said: "It would be awesome to hear your perspectives and hopefully give some of our perspectives to hopefully learn from each other and hear where we're at, because I'm sure you don't want to feel that way for the rest of your life, and I'm sure you want to be listened to by two men in the space of mindset and mental health."

Upon receiving this, um, opportunity, Jordan did what many women have learnt to do: she politely declined and, going above and beyond, even provided resources for their feminist education.

"Why on earth would I agree to this?" Jordan said in a TikTok video to her followers.

"It genuinely shocks me how beyond inappropriate this is, that two grown men have sat down together to try and lure me into a f**king corner in order to gain some kind of weird sense of control over me and my beliefs or think they can somehow save me from the misogynistic assumptions they have made about me.

"I don't owe you anything; I have every single right to just say, 'No, I don't have the time, I don't want to do this.'"

Although Jordan didn't name either of the men in her video, Jack decided to out himself in a five-minute video that quickly went viral — and not for the reasons he might have hoped.

Now, it's worth noting that Jack was actually participating in a "rejection challenge" on TikTok, where he purposefully puts himself in situations to be rejected daily. However, it seems this particular rejection hit differently.

"The reason I decided to message Jordan Tan was to have a conversation," he began.

"To give context to that, I catch up with strangers all the time. It's one of our passions; we love talking to strangers, getting to know their stories, and understanding perspectives. Isn't that what we are here to do? Share stories? Share experiences? Knowledge? Learn from each other?

"No one is perfect," he continued. "Jordan Tan, you are not perfect. Jack McIntosh, he is not perfect. No one listening to this is perfect."

He also felt compelled to admit that he didn't read the resources sent by Jordan because he's…. scared of books?

"The reason I asked why [she didn't want to come on the podcast] was, I was genuinely curious; I'm a f**king curious person," he said. "I just didn't see the harm in it. I've never read a book, so when you sent me this — I don't want to say it goes over my head, but when people tell me to read any book; whether I have a fear of reading books, I don't know."

Jack broke down in tears as he spoke, citing childhood trauma around rejection. While mental health and personal trauma are serious matters that deserve compassion, many viewers pointed out the irony of a man having such an extreme reaction to a woman exercising her right to say no.

After receiving plenty of backlash and ridicule (Abbie Chatfield even dedicated an episode of her podcast to the saga), Jack took the video down and released an apology.

"I'm taking accountability for my actions and the way I made Jordan Tan feel and anyone else I might have offended," he said.

"My approach was very naive. I'm now taking the time to educate myself and try to be better every single day.

"I just wanted to try and spark a conversation with Jordan and learn from her experiences as I am a mental health advocate. I would never want anyone to feel the way that I made Jordan feel and for that, I am truly sorry. Thank you."

Jordan's response to the apology was both gracious and direct.

"This is my piece of advice," she said. "Please, for the love of God, please stop f**king posting on the Internet bro," she said, encouraging Jack to go to therapy. She then went on to question his mate who, apart from comforting Jack as he cried, didn't say a word in the video.

"Your friend, on the other hand, bring him out. What's the deal? Why is he so silent? Why is he letting you be so loud while he sits in silence? It's giving, 'He's letting you take the fall', and he's enabling this behaviour from you so he gets off the hook.

She finished: "Where's the blonde guy? Bring him out, cos' he's the one I'm more pissed off at. Interesting that he wanted to be involved when you sent me the voice note, but now? Crickets."

This whole saga serves as a reminder that sometimes the best way to learn about feminism isn't by sliding into DMs — it's by reading those books you've been avoiding.

Feature Image: TikTok/@jackmcintoshhh/@_jordantan_