Regarding Pewdiepie

Three days ago the Disney company, one of the biggest media juggernauts, dropped a deal with Pewdiepie, arguably one of the world's top e-celebs, due to past material that was deemed anti-semitic. Defenders of Pewdiepie (real name Felix Kjellberg) pointed out that this criticism of the offending content ignores the comedic context in which they were originally posted; in other words, they were jokes. the recent dropping of Pewdiepie by Disney has ignited a huge controversy online, with some defending Pewdiepie and others attacking him.

First, we need to establish THE FACTS. Yes, Pewdiepie HAS uploaded in the past material that could be considered offensive. And yes, in context, the material was clearly meant in jest. Felix himself has established in the past that he does not agree with Nazis,, he does not associate with any Nazi or antisemitic organizations, and has given apologies for whatever offenses he would have caused. Two years ago, I would have said "this is enough" and I would have defended him.

But now here are more facts. Disney, in spite of their family friendly image, are actually one of the most brutal companies in media. They have very high image standards not just for themselves, but for their employees as well. Look up how many teen stars they callously dropped because of things like getting a DUI (Mitchell Musso) or accusations of drug possession (LaLaine). That Disney would be quick to drop someone who's material includes antisemitic elements is to be completely expected, regardless of context.

A company like Disney isn't going to stand by someone being accused of something as heinous as antisemitism, rather, they are going to cut him loose and then wash their hands of him. It makes complete sense; Pewds isn't a staple of the company, he's at best just one more cash cow for them to milk. I am not saying Disney did the right thing, but I AM saying they did the sensible thing. It's fricking Disney, for crying out loud; they've got a million cash cows.

But ignoring all that, we've got on our hands a much bigger issue: is this controversy overblown, or are we ignoring something here? Consider both sides. On the one hand, we have the side that says we've become too sensitive, that we can no longer take a joke. Their claim is that we need to take a step back, relax, and look at the whole picture; we need to see Pewdiepie's "antisemitic" content for the harmless jokes that they are.

Two years ago, I would have agreed with them.

The OTHER side is that antisemitic jokes "normalize" antisemitism. We become desensitized to antisemitism when we write things like "death to all Jews" as a form of jest. This argument sounds ridiculous, and I would have dismissed it in an instant, had I not read a different argument.

I had recently read about how various antisemites and racists would use "jokes" as a form of "testing the waters" for their hateful rhetoric. I was given this example: You have a Klan member make a joke that negatively stereotyped blacks; a laugh would mean he was in tentatively accepting company, while a "that's offensive" would be met with a "just a joke, calm down!" The "just a joke" defense is a covert attempt to take responsibility away from the emitter of the joke and place it unto the recipient, or to put it in Layman's terms "I was just having fun, your hurt feelings are because you WANT to be hurt."

The more I thought about it, the more sensible the opposition's stance on Pewd's videos became to me. Suddenly it made sense that people wouldn't be so quick to forgive or forget what his videos contained. But did I agree with it?

Not entirely. I have no doubt Pewdiepie never INTENDED to offend. I also doubt that Pewdiepie is antisemitic. But the problem is that none of this matters entirely, because the offending material IS horrendously tasteless.

Who the FUCK thinks it's a good idea to don Nazi garb in a video that makes fun of the Media's perception of you as a racist? Who the flying hell thinks it's funny to tell someone "I'll feature you in my video and pay you if you dance barely clothed on the streets waving a sign that says death to jews?" And who the flying fuck thinks it's a smart idea to actually UPLOAD SAID VIDEO????

Two years ago, I would have been quick to call Pewdiepie a moron for uploading said content continously. But these days? We need to keep in mind that hate crimes against minorities are on the rise. Far Right organizations are feeling empowered and emboldened by Brexit, Trump's election, and the general disillusionment with Social Justice. To upload anything that can be seen as racist or antisemitic in THIS socio-political climate is, at best, grossly ignorant and insensitive.

Here's the major problem with Pewds: he's not some smalltime Youtuber, he's THE BIGGEST NAME IN YOUTUBE. The guy has more clout in gaming than EVERY. DAMN, GAME'S JOURNALIST. ON. THE. PLANET! This is someone who has MILLIONS of people watch his videos every day, and whose view counts surpass the billions.

For those of whom much is given, much is expected. Felix is not some anonymous punk on 4Chan, he's a celebrity. His every move is watched and scrutinized by a media that sees him as a cash cow, someone they can profit off of. Now the Media has spun this tale of Pewdiepie being intentionally racist and antisemitic, profiting off the controversy while viewers lap it up and jump the bandwagon. 

And now a truth you will not enjoy hearing: the Media doesn't really care about Pewdiepie being an antisemite, they care about the controversy giving them money and power. Doesn't matter if its Breitbart or Buzzfeed, New York Times or Rebel Media, the Media only cares about getting rich off of your indignation. That's how it's always been, and that's how it will always be.

I guess in the end, though, all I can say is this: Pewds lost out on a Disney deal through no outside fault but his own. I strongly urge him to be more mindful of the content he uploads in the future, because he's in a powerful position as the world's most famous Let's Player. I remind him that he is viewed by millions around the world, and that because of this he has a responsibility towards the quality of his content. I wish him well in all his future endeavors.