Seven years ago, a Swedish gamer named Felix Kjellberg started making YouTube videos under the name ‘PewDiePie’. His gaming videos with comedic, lively, foul-mouthed commentary gained him huge popularity and success over the years. By 2013, PewDiePie had become the most subscribed channel on YouTube. At 53 million subscribers, PewDiePie is still the most subscribed YouTuber.
Felix has made millions of dollars in deals with Disney and YouTube. However, last week Disney cut ties with him after the Wall Street Journal raised questions over anti-Semitic content in some of his videos. Shortly after that, YouTube cancelled the upcoming second season of PewDiePie’s web series and also removed his channel from “Google Preferred”, a premium advertising program at YouTube.
PewDiePie’s so called anti-Semitism was highlighted on 17th January, 2017 when he hired two men through the freelance platform “Fiverr” to make a video that showed them holding up an anti-Semitic sign that read “Death to all Jews”.
Five days later, he did something similar. On 22nd January, PewDiePie hired a man from Fiverr who would say anything the customers requested while being dressed as Jesus Christ. Kjellberg paid him to say “Hitler did absolutely nothing wrong.”
Both the videos were removed from his channel on February 16th, and Felix apologized.
In a recent blog post, Felix claimed that he was just trying to show how crazy some of these online services were. His intention was to only show the absurdity of these freelance sites and not offend anyone. PewDiePie made it clear that he does not support hateful attitudes towards any race or religion. However, the damage was already done.
Is PewDiePie really anti-Sematic?
NO!
I believe Felix when he says he was just trying to be funny and entertain his audience. I’m quite sure PewDiePie didn’t mean to offend anyone or create any controversy. I totally get the context of these videos. He was just testing the extreme nature of cheap online services. No ill-intentions involved.
PewDiePie vs. The Media
In his recent video titled “My Response”, PewDiePie apologized for offensive content in his videos. He also waged a war against the media. Furious, Kjellberg said that the media was trying to discredit him and reduce his influence. He went on to say that the old-school media doesn’t like internet personalities because they feel threatened by the massive reach and influence they have. He proceeded to show his middle finger, asking the media to try again.
Is PewDiePie being unfairly targeted by the media?
NO!
As much as I despise the modern media, their criticism of PewDiePie is not unfair. Before I tell you why, let me make one thing clear: As a gamer myself, I’ve always enjoyed watching PewDiePie’s videos. I remember spending hours browsing through his videos when I first discovered his channel. Believe me, I would have enjoyed PewDiePie’s rant against the media if I knew that he wasn’t at fault. But what’s wrong is wrong.
PewDiePie’s personal feud with the media has made him ignorant and has prevented him from examining his own behavior. Instead of acknowledging his mistakes in his half-hearted apology video, Felix just goes on and on about how the media has a personal vendetta against him. I’d rather have him tell his fans that he’s made a mistake and Nazi jokes aren’t funny.
Felix’s criticism of the media isn’t without merit, but it’s over-exaggerated to say the least.
For someone who has 53 million subscribers, most of whom are teenagers, PewDiePie has to be more responsible. Felix needs to understand that his actions influence millions of his fans. There has been a significant rise in anti-Semitic jokes in the “comment” section of his recent videos. Apparently, his fanboys think Nazi jokes are funny now. Intentional or not, PewDiePie is contributing towards the normalization of anti-Semitic jokes.
PewDiePie will eventually be alright because of the massive, loyal fan following that he enjoys. I will continue to watch his videos as I sincerely believe it was an honest mistake on his part. But I hope that he takes responsibility for his actions more often, rather than playing the victim card.
*brofist*