Hours after Disney announced they would no longer be affiliated with PewDiePie (AKA Felix Kjellberg), YouTube announced that they had cancelled his show and removed him from its premium advertising program.
Last month, Kjellberg released a video that was both antisemitic and abusive. Paying for young Indian men to hold a sign reading “Death to All Jews”, the millionaire claimed he meant to highlight how far people will go for US$5.
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Disney’s Maker Studios were involved in the production of his YouTube Red show Scare PewDiePie, in which Kjellberg is placed in game-like situations meant to frighten him. The second season had been confirmed, but no release date had been set.
While Disney’s departure didn’t necessarily spell the end for the show, YouTube decided to cancel it completely. The first season, however, is still available on YouTube Red.
PewDiePie is also no longer part of Google Preferred — an advertising program that sells popular brand-friendly content — though it is unclear why he was considered brand-friendly before this. He had been known to parade Nazi imagery so often even Richard Spencer, the neo-Nazi best known for being punched in the face on live TV, questioned if he was one of them.
PewDiePie apologised in a Tumblr post, saying it was “laughable” that anyone should think he promoted hate.
