PewDiePie hits out at media for ‘misrepresenting’ him over anti-Semitism controversy

He also apologises for the videos that caused the controversy in the first place.

PewDiePie, the world’s highest-earning YouTube star, has apologised for sharing a succession of allegedly anti-Semitic videos.

PewDiePie, real name Felix Kjellberg, has more than 53 million YouTube subscribers. His videos have been watched over 14 billion times, making him YouTube’s most-watched star.

In recent months, the 27-year-old from Gothenburg in Sweden has attracted criticism by posting a series of videos whose content purports to be humorous, but actually comes off as anti-Semitic.

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One featured a man dressed as Jesus saying, “Hitler did nothing wrong.” Another showed two men who had been paid to hold up a sign which read: “Death to all Jews.” In the wake of the controversy, he has lost a partnership deal with Disney.

Disney has dropped YouTube star Pewdiepie
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“I do strongly believe that you can joke about anything,” PewDiePie says in his new apology video. “I love to push boundaries, but I consider myself a rookie comedian. I’ve definitely made mistakes like this before. It’s always been a growing and learning experience for me.”

However, he also blamed the media for allegedly “misrepresenting” what had happened. “If there’s anything I’ve learned about the media from being a public figure, it’s how they blatantly misrepresent people for their own personal gain, even viciously attack people just to further themselves,” he said.

PewDiePie went on to criticise the Wall Street Journal specifically for breaking the news that Disney had dropped him. “This was a personal attack against me,” he said, accusing the newspaper of “targeting some Swedish guy who tries to be funny.”

Watch his full response video below.

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https://youtu.be/lwk1DogcPmU

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