Earlier today, Disney-owned Maker Studios has severed ties with YouTube star PewDiePie following reports that he posted anti-Semitic content on the video platform. Valentine's Day goes worse for the highest-earning online sensation as YouTube has also canceled Scare PewDiePie Season 2.
PewDiePie, or Felix Kjellberg in real life, did not just suffer a double black eye, as the Google-owned video platform has decided to remove him from Google Preferred, the company's premium service that allows brands to tap YouTube's top content for their ads.
A YouTube spokesperson confirmed the move of the company.
"We encourage free speech and try to defend your right to express unpopular points of view, but we don't permit hate speech ...There is a fine line between what is and what is not considered to be hate speech. For instance, it is generally okay to criticize a nation-state, but not okay to post malicious hateful comments about a group of people solely based on their ethnicity," the YouTube Guidelines state.
PewDiePie has more than 53 million YouTube followers, and the setback should put a good dent on his earnings. PewDiePie is the highest-paid YouTube star with $15 million in earnings in 2016, according to Forbes.
YouTube might also take a hit as its YouTube Red service leans on stars such as PewDiePie to win subscribers willing to pay $10 a month. It is still not clear if Season 1 of Scare PewDiePie will be removed.
PewDiePie's YouTube channel is still up and ads are still live, but advertisers might opt out and keep a distance for a while from Kjellberg.
Anti-Semitic PewDiePie Videos
The Wall Street Journal spotted nine videos with anti-Semitic content. One of the offensive videos featured two Indian men holding a sign that reads "Death To All Jews." The other videos featured the Nazi anthem, swastikas, and a Hitler speech. The videos are no longer available on PewDiePie's page, but the said videos have attracted around 23 million views before they were taken down.
Kjellberg paid content creators on a freelance website called Fiverr. The producers of the video, Funny Guys, were banned by Fiverr.
PewDiePie's Sorry, Not Sorry
Over the weekend, PewDiePie explained his side via his Tumblr page.
"I am in no way supporting any kind of hateful attitudes. I make videos for my audience. I think of the content that I create as entertainment, and not a place for any serious political commentary. I know my audience understand that and that is why they come to my channel. Though this was not my intention, I understand that these jokes were ultimately offensive," PewDiePie stated.
"As laughable as it is to believe that I might actually endorse these people, to anyone unsure on my standpoint regarding hate-based groups: No, I don't support these people in any way," he added.
PewDiePie also made headlines a few months back when Twitter suspended his account following an Islamic State joke.
