PewDiePie stepping away from YouTube in 2020: ‘I’m feeling very tired’
The star has been accused of racism and anti-Semitism
Embattled YouTube star Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg is stepping away from the platform in 2020 after resurfaced allegations of racism and anti-Semitism, the vlogger said in a video.
“I am taking [a] break from YouTube next year,” he said. “I wanted to say it in advance because I made up my mind. I’m feeling very tired. I don’t know if you can tell ... early next year I’ll be away for a little while. I’ll explain that later but I wanted to give a heads up.”
Kjellberg also apparently suspended his Twitter account.
The 30-year-old, one of YouTube’s biggest personalities, rose to fame on his gaming commentary. As of the posting of the video, he had more than 100 million subscribers.
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In recent years, though, the star became embroiled in controversy as some of his past comments (which he denied were racist or anti-Semitic) were embraced by far-right groups.
In 2017, Disney cut ties with the star after he allegedly paid two actors to hold a sign that read “Death to all Jews” in a video that has since been removed from the platform.
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YouTube’s new harassment policy states the platform, a subsidiary of media giant Google, will no longer allow users to post content that intends to “maliciously harass, threaten or bully others based on race, gender, sexual orientation and other protected categories."
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Kjellberg has raked in millions through advertising due to his huge online following. Forbes estimated he made around $15 million in 2016 and $12 million in 2017 from his videos.