Felix Kjellberg, aka PewDiePie, is without a doubt one of, if not the most, famous YouTube personality in the world, and is known for being provocative from time to time. Usually this goes by without much fuss, but that appears not to be the case this time around.
The Wall Street Journal claims that his video distributor Maker Studios (a Walt Disney company) is severing its ties to the Swede after some recent videos included anti-Semitic content. Their report cites several incidents, some of which dates as far back as August.
Three out of the nine videos cited have been taken down, including one in which PewDiePie had paid two Indian men to hold up a sign that read "Death to all Jews" while laughing. A spokeswoman for Maker Studios had this to say in a statement to WSJ:
"Although Felix has created a following by being provocative and irreverent, he clearly went too far in this case and the resulting videos are inappropriate. Maker Studios has made the decision to end our affiliation with him going forward."
The company has now removed all reference to Kjellberg from its website, despite him recently addressing the controversy in videos and a Tumblr post:
"I was trying to show how crazy the modern world is, specifically some of the services available online. I picked something that seemed absurd to me—That people on Fiverr would say anything for 5 dollars."
"I think it's important to say something and I want to make one thing clear: I am in no way supporting any kind of hateful attitudes."
"I make videos for my audience. I think of the content that I create as entertainment, and not a place for any serious political commentary. I know my audience understand that and that is why they come to my channel. Though this was not my intention, I understand that these jokes were ultimately offensive."
"As laughable as it is to believe that I might actually endorse these people, to anyone unsure on my standpoint regarding hate-based groups: No, I don't support these people in any way."
No matter what side you're on in this case, this clearly shows that you'll have to be careful of what you're posting on the internet, as people might interpret it in different ways.