YouTube content creator Felix Kjellberg, is now under fire after posting videos with anti-sematic messages. His channel, “Pewdiepie” has gained over 50 million subscribers through gaming playthroughs, skit and comedy videos. He is known for his dark sense of humor and uncensored attitude on his channel.
A few weeks ago, Pewdiepie paid two Indian men, through the website Fiverr to hold up a sign that read “Death To All Jews”. The video was met with varying criticism by those who found the video funny and those who were offended by the message. The two men involved in this incident were briefly banned from Fiverr for including the message in their video.
In the same video, a Jesus impersonator relayed a message from Pewdiepie that read “Hitler did nothing wrong”. Pewdiepie has since helped the men regain their accounts and apologized for the offensive content.
The Wall Street Journal reached out to companies supporting Pewdiepie to find out what they thought of his behavior. YouTube cancelled the second season of his “Scare Pewdiepie” show and Disney’s maker studios cut ties with him altogether. In a response video Pewdiepie speaks about the Wall Street Journal taking his videos out of context and blowing the situation out of proportion.
In one video, Pewdiepie openly disagreed with his fans using swastikas within a game. However, the Wall Street Journal used this video to call Pewdiepie a Nazi supporter.
Internet forums are often filled with sensitive people but when is it safe to say a joke has gone too far. Despite Pewdiepie being a self-declared comedian, his message could have potentially hurt his viewers. Does he deserve to have his show cancelled and his opportunities limited?
In his response, Felix is clearly remorseful of his actions but finds media outlets like the Wall Street Journal useless. He had this to say about the publication company. “I’m still here, I’m still making videos. Nice try, Wall Street Journal. Try again, motherf—ers.”
It will soon be determined whether Pewdiepie’s channel will face further backlash.
Do you think he should be kicked off YouTube despite having such a large following?