Disney Drops PewDiePie After Controversial Videos Last Month
Does the name Felix Kjellberg ring a bell? Probably not, but how about PewDiePie? While we know that PewDiePie says and does some pretty controversial things, he has stepped over the line this time. And the worst part for him? Disney does not want anything to do with him.
So maybe you’re wondering what happened. On January 11th, the YouTuber posted a video that included two men laughing as they held up a banner that read “Death to all Jews.” At the time the video was released, PewDiePie thought it was funny, however many people did not. On January 17th, PewDiePie addressed the video saying that it was meant to be humorous and was, in no way meant to be anti-semitic. While there have been more controversial videos uploaded on his channel, all have since been removed.
Back in 2014 Disney acquired the YouTube network Maker Studios, in which big time YouTube gamers received millions of dollars. PewDiePie was one of the YouTubers who made a multi-million dollar deal with Disney. When the Wall Street Journal got in touch with Disney, they weren’t too pleased to hear about it.
Earlier today Disney announced that it has cut all ties with the famous YouTuber, after learning about the controversial videos. A spokesperson for Maker Studios, owned by Disney, has this to say, “Although Felix (PewDiePie) has created a following by being provocative and irreverent, he clearly went too far in this case and the resulting videos are inappropriate.”
PewDiePie has not yet responded about the videos being taken down, or Disney’s decision to cut ties with him. While he still has over 53 million subscribers, this sends a clear message that there are certain lines he just shouldn’t cross.
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