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PewDiePie Dropped by Disney after Anti-Semitic Jokes


PewDiePie; some call him the King of YouTube. With the highest subscriber count of any creator on the platform (currently at over 53 million), Felix Kjellberg's content reaches a lot of people. Known primarily for his humorous gaming videos, his success earns him about $15 million (around £11 million) per year.

Recent uproar from some of his 'jokes' suggesting anti-Semitic messages has cost the 27-year-old his connection with Disney, the major trans-national corporation which bought Maker Studios three years ago to work alongside the YouTuber.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the company believe the content including the Nazi-imagery, which show him reacting to two men holding up a sign with 'Death to all Jews' written on it, was highly inappropriate, ultimately leading to the decision to cut ties with the YouTube star. This video, alongside two others with similar imagery, were viewed 23 million times before being deleted.

“Although Felix has created a following by being provocative and irreverent, he clearly went too far in this case,” a representative of Maker Studios told the Wall Street Journal. “The resulting videos are inappropriate.”

Google, owners of YouTube, have also pulled their support for their most popular channel, cancelling a second series of 'Scare PewDiePie', and removing his channel from the spotlight 'Google Preferred' feature.

Fellow YouTube success story Casey Neistat shared his views on the matter in a vlog, and judging by the comment section, many weren't happy with what he had to say, while other's believed it was an unbiased and informative. I'm more in favour of the latter opinion, but I'll leave it here for more information and for you to judge for yourself;


The Guardian point out how Kjellberg wasn't promoting Nazi ideology, but used the images and words of Adolf Hitler for 'shock value' in his videos, in order to 'show how crazy the modern world is', (worded by Pewdiepie himself in his recent Tumblr post in a response to the uproar). I do find it bizarre that he thought his audience weren't already aware of how 'crazy' antisemitism is mind you.

Kjellberg's post continues to say;

“I think it’s important to say something and I want to make one thing clear: 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.”

His supporters have turned to Twitter to question Disney's and Googles actions:


With a following as huge as PewDiePie's, the messages portrayed from his content - whether intended or not - reach a lot of people. With the short but sincere explanation Kjellberg gave, it seems he’s realized his actions have had pretty big consequences, however looking at Twitter,  his support is still present.

What's your stance on the 'YouTube drama?'



An aspiring journalist, Laura is our Content Writer intern.  Pop-punk gig-goer and drag queen enthusiast, Laura is working her way into the industry, with an English A -Level and love of writing about anything and everything in tow. Find her daily musings on twitter @Songbird_Lauras


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PewDiePie Dropped by Disney after Anti-Semitic Jokes Reviewed by Unknown on Thursday, February 16, 2017 Rating: 5
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