Maker Studios, which the Walt Disney Company owns, has dropped PewDiePie, the most subscribed YouTube channel, after posting anti-Semitic content on his channel.
PewDiePie's Controversial Videos
Felix Kjellberg, the man behind the videos, posted nine of them, to be exact, featuring anti-Semitic comments or Nazi imagery, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. These include one video featuring two men paid by Kjellberg to hold up a sign that read "Death to All Jews," and another one where a man in costume as Jesus proclaims "Hitler did nothing wrong."
Another video featured a swastika, while another one featured photographs of Adolf Hitler, with Kjellberg himself donning a "Make America Great Again" cap, most commonly worn by Trump supporters.
PewDiePie has decided to take down three of the videos. The channel, which features Kjellberg's gaming sessions or play-throughs often accompanied by his signature crass commentary, has more than 53 million subscribers — the most out of any channel on the site.
It has amassed more than 14 billion views, which is also more than anyone else on YouTube. According to Forbes, Kjellberg reportedly profited $15 million in 2016 by virtue of advertisements that show up alongside his content, his YouTube Red series, and sales of "This Book Loves You," Kjellberg's published parody of self-help books.
Maker Studios And PewDiePie
The Disney-owned Maker Studios partners with Kjellberg. The specifics of their relationship, while undisclosed, presumably aids Kjellberg in the business side of things — including merchandise, video production, creation of other content — in return for a share of his profits.
"Although Felix has created a following by being provocative and irreverent, he clearly went too far in this case and the resulting videos are inappropriate," a Maker Studios spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal, noting that Kjellberg had free reign in terms of content as part of the deal.
PewDiePie's Responds, But Offers No Apologies
Kjellberg has addressed the issue viam a Tumblr post, iterating that was in no way supporting any kind of hateful attitudes, although he didn't offer an apology outright.
"I think of the content that I create as entertainment, and not a place for any serious political commentary ... that is why [subscribers] come to my channel," he said. "Though this was not my intention, I understand that these jokes were ultimately offensive."
According to Kjellberg, he was trying to show, through the videos, how "crazy the modern world is," putting emphasis on some services that are available online. He said that he paid $5 to people at Fiverr to perform something that was absurd to him.
Kjellberg repeatedly reiterated that the context in which his offensive jokes are told is important. In a now-removed video from January, Kjellberg told his audience that people need to start sifting jokes from "what is actually problematic."
Fiverr, the Tel Aviv-based company through which Kjellberg used to enlist men to do the performances, has reportedly suspended his account, alongside the people Kjellberg paid.
Have you seen the videos by PewDiePie regarded as anti-Semitic? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
