Youtuber KSI has announced that he will stop using social media after coming under fire for using racist clown in a satirical video recently.
KSI, pseudonym for Olajide William Olatunji, gained popularity as one of the Youtube group The Sidemen, whose sketches and challenges have earned them over 18 million subscribers on their channel.
A recent video by Sidemen Sunday saw a group of internet personalities take on a “countdown challenge” in which they try to come up with a nine-letter word like Channel 4 Show.
KSI, whose team calls himself “N******,” struggled to come up with a word before introducing the “P***,” adding, “We need points and I don’t mean that maliciously.”
Fellow hosts Chunkz and Filly looked open when they laughed at KSI’s answer, while he jokingly said, “Sorry.”
Fellow hosts Chunkz and Filly looked open as they laughed at KSI’s answer, while jokingly saying “sorry”
KSI has since announced that he will be taking a break from social media, while apologizing for the language used in the video
The video sparked outrage after being shared online, with health presenter Dr Rang Singh calling it “simply unacceptable”.
BBC presenter Bobby Friction wrote: ‘I had this racial slur thrown at me and I was physically beaten by racists throughout my childhood.
Really upset that KSI (a guy my kids love) did this and thought it was funny. The rest of them laughing can go for themselves too. Dehumanized people love it so naturally.
Social media influencer Kavouss wrote, “Fans are mad at KSI for saying ‘P***’ in a video for ‘The Points. ‘ Don’t think there’s any excuse for saying that at all.
KSI — which stands for “knowledge, strength, and integrity” — took to Twitter to apologize for the words used in the video, which has since been removed.
“I want to apologize for a racial slur in a recent video by Sidemen,” he said.
There is no excuse whatever the circumstances, I should never have said that and I’m sorry. I have always told my fans that they should not worship me or put me on a pedestal because I am human.
I’m not perfect, I will fail in life, and lately I’ve been failing a lot.
So I decided I was going to take a break from social media for a while. ‘
The video was met with outrage online, with many users describing their own experiences of having the racist slogan thrown at them
But this isn’t the first time the YouTuber has had to apologize.
In 2013, KSI was heard asking women at a gaming convention “what STDs they have.”
He has also been accused of downplaying sexual assault by pulling a “rape face” in his online videos.
The YouTuber, rapper and boxer reportedly earns £2.9 million ($4.5 million) annually from his YouTube work. But his salary will fluctuate because he gets paid based on his activity, sponsorships, and ad revenue, rather than his salary from a video hosting site.
Forbes listed KSI as the fifth highest-paid YouTube star in the world in 2015, but has since been overtaken by Paul’s brothers, Logan and Jake.
And the British YouTuber is not shy about flaunting his wealth.
KSI moved into a £4.5m mansion in 2016 with three close friends, who were all part of The Sidemen, and moved to a Lamborghini Aventador back in 2014.
When KSI left the £23,000-a-year Berkhamsted School in Hertfordshire after AS levels to become a YouTuber, his mother, who wanted him to be a doctor or a lawyer, was furious.
My parents lived in Nigeria and worked hard to get to this country, doing everything they could to make sure I was able to go to a private school. They borrowed. He was in huge debt. You can understand how frustrating it was when I said, “No, I want to do YouTube,” he said.
However, his online following has helped him become a successful boxer – oddly enough, YouTubers have a habit of challenging each other to boxing duels – and rap star, and he’s now reportedly worth £16m.
