That's really uncalled for. Most of us know that s-video DIN pins are fragile. For example, if the pin is slightly bent, it may bend worse when attempting to insert the s-video cable. When you bend it back, you may actually brittle the flimsy pin. So if the s-video pin is a wee thick, and the socket is more death grippy than normal, I can fully see how it can get stuck. Being "stupid" has no bearing here, it can happen to anybody.

I'm not.
But I've used silicon many times, just not this exact formulation and brand.

Nope, just silicon. It's rubbery and malleable. A real PITA to remove, but far from impossible.

Nope, not Tony Stank. More like Aluminum- or Copper-Man.

I would have tried this method, even having never done it myself. It makes sense. Of course, I surely have a tube of silicon in the garage, would have used that. I would have tried to melted needle trick first, but doubt it'd work. Maybe dug around the s-video hole with the needle.

But honestly, I'd have thrown out the s-video cable if I thought it had been compromised. So I may have never been in this spot. I toss cables several times per year. I get them in bulk, give many away with my hardware (when available), and keep enough in reserve for my needs.

There's no electonic shops near you that you could just ask what
It would cost to replace that connector?
Is the connector soldered on a large circuit
Board or small one?
If it's a small one possible plug in connectors on board
Replace with another. Maybe someone here is.parting on out.
Picture would be great along with make and model.

It is going to cost, so don't sweat if you need to buy a lighter, they are a lot cheaper than technician time or a new VCR.

S-VIDEO jacks and pins are tiny. I'm not confident that using gasket maker or similar would accomplish anything beyond clogging the jack further. You might try pick it out with tiny dental probes or maybe carefully and slowly drill it out by hand using a small numbered drill bit that is smaller then the pin. (This is no place for using a high speed drill or Dremel-like tool)

The only sure fix is to replace the connector, the difficulty of which will depend on how it is mounted in your gear.

As to cancer, the State of California cancer warning is so common it has lost meaning for a lot of people.

You'll need a fair speed to use a drill that small, Dremel is probably the best tool being all speed and no torque. If you try and drill that out slowly (that's a different concept to carelessly) it's not going to end well. Slow speeds are going to compound the problem with a broken drill and connector pin, it will simply bind in the material and snap! If it's a brass, aluminium or copper pin that'll need drilling very fast to stand any chance of not galling, you know the horrors of drilling non-ferrous.

Dental drills are incredibly quick for a reason!

Replacement of the socket is probably the easiest thing though, I think trying to retrieve it is definitely the second-rate fix.

This I think might fall into the notion of "if you need to ask - get somebody else to do it" when it comes to drilling this out as it's going to be tricky for a skilled person.

The main issue with high speed is stability. No place for hand held work here. One slip and the socket is toast. Machine rest for the VCR, and press for the drill to allow precise alignment and control of depth and rate of feed.

See, I had no idea bending the pins could cause this problem. The pin got bent a few months ago and I just took a pen and bent it back into shape. I had never heard of them snapping off inside the socket until it happened to me.

Also, S-Video cables are a gamble these days, because they're made cheaply, and could potentially have an annoying "checkerboard" visual pattern wherever there are bright colors. Since I use these to digitize VHS recordings, that kinda thing is unacceptable. I thought it was better to fix my old one rather than search for a new one.

I would never use a drill. That's an automatic way to just screw it up.

Cheap cables can still be quality. You refer to non-quality cables, not the pricing. On this exact topic, price has little overlap with quality. If anything, the most expensive s-video cables tend to be the worst s-video cables.

I know about bent s-video cables potentially breaking because it happened to me about 20 years ago with an ATI purple dongle. In that case, I just bought another dongle. Thankfully not the VCR. But I did have push-pull issues that desoldered the s-video socket from the board, on my JVC 9800 about 15 years ago. That sucked, cost about $300 to fix.