Disney’s Maker Studios has announced their network would be dropping PewDiePie after Wall Street Journal uncovered videos featuring the YouTube star making anti-semitic jokes and promoting Nazi imagery.
“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. Maker Studios has made the decision to end our affiliation with him going forward,” said a Makers Studio representative.
Felix Kjellberg is the 27-year-old Swede behind PewDiePie, who is currently the highest paid YouTuber and has over 53 million subscribers on YouTube. His videos gained prominence for how opinionated and often controversial they were. He cemented his online empire with a joint venture with Disney’s Maker Studios in 2014, an opportunity that allowed him to produce videos, mobile apps and merchandise on a multi-channel network called Revelmode.
However, following investigations into antisemitic content, Disney has officially cut ties with the YouTuber.
According to the Wall Street Journal, PewDiePie posted nine videos including antisemitic jokes or Nazi imagery over the last six months. Examples include a video, posted on January 11, that featured two men holding a banner stating “Death to all Jews”. Another video, posted the 22nd of January, featured a man dressed as Jesus, saying, “Hitler did absolutely nothing wrong”.
YouTube had not removed any of the questionable videos, but PewDiePie’s channel has recalled three. Kjellberg attempted to clear misunderstandings with a blog post published Sunday.
“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,” Kjellberg stated after admitting he used the freelance marketplace Fiverr to hire two Indian men to make and advertise the offensive sign. “Though this was not my intention, I understand that these jokes were ultimately offensive“.
Regardless of his attempts to soothe ruffled feathers, PewDiePie’s comments have made him a hero in the eyes of the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer, who have written countless articles about the YouTuber, even going so far as to call him “our guy”.
“He could be doing all this only to cause a stir things up and get free publicity,” shrugged the Daily Stormer. “Ultimately, it doesn’t matter, since the effect is the same; it normalizes Nazism, and marginalizes our enemies.”
Without Disney’s support, PewDiePie will now have to produce his videos independently or find another partner.
#Peace.Love.PewDiePie
