[Update 09/13] PewDiePie has posted a response video in which he apologizes for the remark. You can watch it here.
[Original Story] The biggest news over the weekend focused squarely on YouTube’s number one personality: Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg. During a livestreaming broadcast of popular online shooter PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, PewDiePie blurted out the n-word. The stream was clipped for the above 1 minute video. Obvious language warning.
The specific moment stems from a random bit of frustration, which we’ve all experienced while playing games. That certainly doesn’t excuse using a nasty racial slur – despite online gaming’s toxic acceptance of all manner of hate speech. PewDiePie quickly apologized and replaced the remark with ‘asshole.’ But as everyone is acutely aware, what happens online is quickly immortalized.
At least one indie developer is using this moment to take a hardline stance against PewDiePie. Campo Santo’s co-founder Sean Vanaman posted several tweets announcing a DMCA complaint of any PewDiePie videos featuring their game, Firewatch. A full playthrough of Firewatch by PewDiePie has since been taken down by YouTube.
We’re filing a DMCA takedown of PewDiePie’s Firewatch content and any future Campo Santo games.
— Sean Vanaman (@vanaman) September 10, 2017
Vanaman expanded on his reasoning in several more tweets. He referred to PewDiePie as “worse than a closeted racist: he’s a propagator of despicable garbage that does real damage to the culture around this industry.”
Vanaman acknowledged that their company, like countless others, has benefited from having their games played by PewDiePie to his audience of 57 million subscribers. Vanaman states that he still loves streamers/YouTubers, watches them daily, and gave out over 3000 keys of Firewatch to streamers.
This is not the first time PewDiePie has been in hot water over racism. Earlier this year the Wall Street Journal found several joke videos he made involving racist imagery and commentary. In the wake, YouTube canceled his video series, “Scare PewDiePie,” and Disney ended their partnership with PewDiePie and Maker Studios. PewDiePie posted a response in which he mostly blamed the media for overreacting and misrepresenting him.
