YouTube says it’s cancelling the second season of vlogger star PewDiePie’s reality show, and has booted his channel from its premium advertising program. The..
YouTube says it’s cancelling the second season of vlogger star PewDiePie’s reality show, and has booted his channel from its premium advertising program. The announcement comes shortly after news that Disney’s Maker Studios was severing ties with PewDiePie , whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, after he posted a series of videos featuring anti-Semitic clips and messages.
PewDiePie is the most-subscribed YouTube channel with over 53 million followers on the network.
According to a Wall Street Journal report , Kjellberg had posted nine videos containing anti-Semitic clips or Nazi-related images. Three of the videos published in January have been removed from the channel. In one skit, Kjellberg paid a group of Sri Lankan men to hold up a sign that read “Death to All Jews,” and another had a figure dressed as Jesus defending Hitler.
PewDiePie previously had his own network with Maker Studios. But the company, bought by Disney in 2014 , ended its association with the vlogger as a result of these videos and the Wall St. Journal’s reporting.
It’s no surprise that the fallout now continues with YouTube, which is also ending its relationship with PewDiePie, though it hasn’t banned the channel from its network entirely.
PewDiePie had been one of higher profile content wins for YouTube’s premium service, YouTube Red. The subscription-based offering removes ads from YouTube and offers other features, like background play and offline access, all for $10 per month.
