Photo: YouTube
Enough is enough, says this Black writer.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Jan 15, 2021
It has always seemed as if white influencers and content creators have continued to stay above the consequences of their actions.
With the comeback of PewDiePie, I’m being reminded just how much this world caters to white men —especially white men who’ve consistently shown that they have no regard for other people’s feelings.
The news that Swedish YouTuber PewDiePie, who is most known for his gaming commentary and selective comedic opinion, has decided to return to social media — or more importantly, Facebook (after a four-year hiatus), has seemingly stirred up my own feelings.
His past is not unknown, especially in the Black community.
PewDiePie, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, was on a livestream back in 2017 when he dropped the n-word.
After, he apologized profusely, even saying, “It seems like I’ve learned nothing from all these past controversies.”
At the time, PewDiePie was around 28 years old, and a regular presence on the internet.
Shouldn’t he have known just how wrong saying something like that was?
PewDiePie has around 108 million subscribers, and has reached over 26 billion views, according to his YouTube page.
And still, he never thought about how detrimental certain comments might be.
I’m sure from his plethora of followers, he has Black people within his fandom.
Black people whom he has hurt with not only the action of saying such a word like that, but also giving that mediocre apology after.
But of course, nothing hurts more than seeing someone who’s afforded so much pain still be given a platform.
His return to Facebook, after all of the things he’s said, is honestly a slap in the face as a Black woman.
But, it’s not even his new Facebook endeavor that makes me feel this way.
It’s also the fact that he’s continuously been provided with security, money, and an everflow of followers that still support him despite what kind of person he’s shown the internet that he actually is.
It’s not even his racist past against the Black community, but also his anti-semitic comments, and the lackluster apology he’s given for that.
PewDiePie’s continued place in the spotlight is more disappointing than surprising.
Because this is the luxury that white men are bestowned in not only this country, but this world.
He is the epitome of white male privilege.
The fact that he has access to the same things he had access to before he showed that he has no regard for not only the Black people that follow him, but any Black person who found offense and pain in the language he’s used, is astounding to me.
Being able to continue making millions of dollars seems like he’s just profiting off of Black pain.
But their excuses are always the same.
“I didn’t know,”
“Please forgive me, I’ll do better in the future.”
“Cancel culture is toxic and I shouldn’t be exiled for making mistakes.”
Except these aren’t run-of-the-mill mistakes.
A mistake is leaving your keys in the door.
A mistake is forgetting your wallet in the car.
A mistake is using hurtful and derogatory language that should be common sense not to use.
It should be known that those types of words and those types of actions are detrimental to a community that has suffered so much.
If PewDiePie was truly sorry, if he truly had any remorse for the actions he’s done, he would not be taking up a deal to return to Facebook.
In fact, he would leave social media altogether.
He would use his platform to uplift voices in communities he’s actively silenced and made them feel less than they are.
It’s time we start holding white influencers accountable — because they shouldn’t be allowed the enjoy and benefit from their platforms, especially when they’ve never used those platforms for good.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Chicago. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.