Did YouTuber Pewdiepie go too far?
For those of you who are avid YouTube viewers, you will most likely be familiar with the number one most subscribed channel on YouTube “Pewdiepie”.
Pewdiepie (or Felix) is known for making commentary videos on video games while screaming at the camera. He has also created some vlog style comedy videos. Felix has gotten himself involved in quite the controversy recently. He has lost a contract with Disney and has been dropped from his webseries on YouTube Red. As Google and Disney feel he went too far with some anti-semitic commentary.
On Monday, he live-streamed a video via Fiverr in which he convinced and paid two men to hold up a sign reading “Death to all Jews”. These men who are from India claim that they did not know what they were saying as English is not their first language. This was expressed in an apology video from the two Indian men.
There has also been a stream of Hitler imagery used in Felix’s videos. He claims it is his way to show how crazy the modern world has become and these are all forms of satire.
But has he gone to far? Sure he may be entitled to freedom of speech. But doesn’t freedom of speech still come with consequences? Is it not possible to support freedom of speech while not endorsing his message or similar messages to it?
Source: Huffington Post
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Well, he’s certainly entitled to his freedom to speak. And Disney and Google are certainly entitled to not pay him to do so.
Wasn’t he supposed to delete his Youtube account like months ago, anyway? The attention whoring is beyond tiresome.
‘Death to all jews’ is freedom of speech? Gosh, who knew?
@LornaLove – He was basically trying to prove you could find someone willing to do anything for $5.
Excuse my overexaggerated eyeroll.
@Seek that was a prank to all of his viewers and to troll the media in the process. It was a long running joke, he created a channel called Jack Septic Eye 2. He is friends with Jack Septic Eye and he jokingly made a second channel for him, just to beg YouTube to give him a YouTube play button for the second channel.
So he deleted the Jack Septic Eye 2 channel in the end. Sort of implying “hey I never said which channel”.
Even worse is if the guys holding up the signs didn’t know what they were saying. Fucking hell, at least he didn’t have them walk into a airport with a sign that said I HAVE A BOMB.
Dude is a bag of shit.
Classic case of “I’m famous now, I can do and say whatever comes to my mind”. Like when Sam Pepper started harassing girls around. “Prank” my ass, he should’ve known better and just keep to his video games.
Don’t these people never get that fame is not being free to do whatever, but exactly the opposite?
Dumbass.
I don’t think so. I always enjoy his funny commentary whenever he reviews a video game. I like that he didn’t exclude profanity in his videos. Controversy is what make someone interesting, I don’t find it as a reason to hate someone.
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I have never actually seen one of his videos since I think video games are stupid. But I do know of the pop-culture shit.
The fucking problem here is that the average age of his viewer is 13 years old. They look up to him and he does this shit. Fucking hell, Trump is a slightly better role-model.
I’m not surprised. I’ve seen him dropping “controversial” shit like that before in various videos, though in much lesser quantity. If you watch his videos regularly you will notice that too. This live video was just all of those videos combined. What surprise me is that people ignored this fact until now, if they are really that concerned. Not that I’m a fan of any kind. My brother is, and I got to watch his videos.
You know what really bothers me? Pewdiepie is using these controversial shit to make tasteless jokes. He knows his viewers are 13-year-old and it is ridiculously easy to make them laugh. They will laugh at him waving a plastic penis or doing Hitler’s gesture. In a 13-year-old’s mind those things are “the dark area”, something adults don’t like to talk about. So when a handsome Youtuber shows them to them righg in their face, it is like a fantasy comes true. Pews did what you saw because he knew someone out there would laugh at it.
Naturally I don’t care for that shit, I’m not a person who is offended easily. But his jokes don’t have any substance at all! His plastic penis and Hitler’s gesture are only for a quick, cheap laugh from 13-year-old fans and more attention from more 13-year-old, while at the same time creating controversy and sensation, thus increasing attention to him. And I have never appreciated that kind of attitude. You are not doing it sincerely.
He’s certainly entitled to say what he wants, but he’s not entitled to say it on someone else’s dime.
Great responses everyone, very insightful.
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