I've done a long analysis of that incident on using the swiss cheese model, it boils down to:

• There was a bugged version of steam.deb released that would throw an incompatibility with some weirder desktops, to include Pop!_OS' kind-of-not-quite-Cosmic-yet fork of Gnome. This incompatibility would have it uninstall the entire GUI. Including X11.
• This bug was found and patched long before this. But, the bugged version just happened to be in the apt cache of the image of Pop!_OS that Linus installed.
• Pop!_OS didn't perform an apt update at any point during the onboarding cycle, or when launching the Pop!_Shop.
• Linus went to install Steam, the Pop!_Shop saw that scary warning about uninstalling the GUI, and refused to do it.
• Instead of googling "popos failed to install steam" and learning how to update before installing, Linus yelled at the camera about Linux requiring the terminal, googled how to install it from the terminal.
• Most install instructions for Debian-based Linux tell you to apt update and apt upgrade before an apt install, but Linus seems to have only found the apt install instruction.
• Possibly because Windows always says doing something can damage your computer, Linus ignored the warning and forced the install to continue.
• APT happily uninstalled X11.

A lot of the fault falls on the design of Pop!_OS and how it handles the apt cache, that somehow neither the onboarding process nor launching the Pop!_Shop did it. Most of the time it's mostly not a problem mostly. But one time it was a major problem, on international television. In the same episode, Luke installed Linux Mint, and showed it prompting him to install updates, which refreshes the apt cache and prevents problems like this.

Some of it does fall on Linus. Rather than attempting do diagnose and solve a problem, he threw a little bitch fit.

…while being forced to do so to achieve a basic thing, and after finding it as the solution on the web (because it usually is). Remember, Pop!_OS screwed up so badly that the installation of a common user program caused the removal of core system packages. While it's correct to expect people to read warnings, expecting beginners and common users to either learn about the (very complex) inner workings of an operating system just to install something or to let go of their entire gaming library is unreasonable. And although Linus of course should have an interest in learning these things given his work and should've taken more care, the video was specifically to showcase how their experience as new users look like. And Pop!_OS was generally regarded as user-friendly, not as solely aimed at professionals (important detail).

If the only solution to a problem with a very common task on a user-friendly OS is hidden behind an advanced-level skill wall (yes, knowing all the important packages if your OS means you're an advanced user) that may kill you if you do a single wrong action then your system offers shitty solutions.

Fortunately both user-friendly distros and aspects of them like Flatpak have gone way further since then, so this shouldn't happen as easily anymore. The warnings in apt are way more noticeable now too I think. The Linux community learned from all the bad press… most of it at least.

He explained he was trying to approach it as an average user. But that seems disengenous to me. That warning was scary as fuck. Anyone stupid enough to go far out of their way to break their system against very strong warnings, gets what they get. The average users I know wouldn't have done that unless they were pretty much done trying and didn't care if it broke their system anyhow

I was more hoping for the "Well Excuuuuuseee me, Princess" Link, but I'll take it.

CD-i Link has entered the chat…

Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me Princess