YouTube star PewDiePie in fresh race row after using N-word in video

YouTube star PewDiePie is facing fresh allegations of racism after using the offensive word.
PewDiePie/YouTube
Francesca Gillett11 September 2017

YouTube’s highest paid star is embroiled in a fresh race row after using the “N-word” in an online broadcast.

PewDiePie, whose videos have been watched more than 16 billion times, has repeatedly faced allegations of racism and anti-Semitism.

The 26-year-old Swede, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, uttered the latest slur as he played a game during a live video streaming on his channel.

He apologised for using the word, adding: “I don’t mean that in a bad way”.

The YouTuber has more than 57 million subscribers to his channel.
Getty Images

In February this year Disney, which was associated with PewDiePie through its YouTube company Maker Studios, dropped the star after he was hit with allegations of spreading anti-Semitic messages in his videos.

In one of the videos, PewDiePie paid two men to hold up a sign reading: “Death to all Jews.”

The star, who is understood to have earned £11 million through YouTube last year, said at the time the allegations of anti-Semitism were “insane” and “unfair”.

Last year, PewDiePie was temporarily suspended from Twitter after making jokes about Islamic State.

His latest racial slur has sparked an outcry on social media, with many calling him out for his racism. But some other fans continue to defend the star.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in