Here's what Reddit's CEO has to say as petition for her resignation hits 150,000

Reddit has apologised for the blackout on the website on Thursday which was dubbed AMAgeddon, as moderators set subreddits to private to protest the dismissal of an employee.

A statement from reddit CEO, Ellen Pao, provided to i100.co.uk said:

I want to apologize for how we handled the transition Thursday.

We should have informed the moderators earlier and provided more detail on the transition plan.

We are working to make improvements and create the best experience for our users and we aren't always perfect.

Our community is what makes reddit, reddit and we let you down.

Ms Pao has come under scrutiny following the firing, as well as the decision to ban certain subreddits, including r/ellenpaoiskillingreddit, which has since been reinstated.

The banning of some subreddits marked a notable move away from reddit’s previous stance as a ‘free speech platform’.

Over 155,000 people have so far signed a petition asking for the removal of Ms Pao as CEO.

A reddit spokesperson told the i100:

Ellen has the full support of the reddit team.

More:The extent of Reddit's AMAgeddon crisis, in one chart