The Walt Disney Company on Tuesday severed ties with the world's biggest YouTube star following a series of anti-Semitic videos. PewDiePie, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, has 53 million adoring fans worldwide, and his videos have amassed some 14.7 billion views. The 27-year-old Swede usually focuses on video games, and his huge fan base has allowed him to turn his YouTube channel into a lucrative business, earning more than $14 million a year from advertising, sponsorships and appearance fees. According to The Guardian, a key part of Kjellberg's empire is a joint venture with Disney's Maker Studios, which he inked in 2014. This gave him co-ownership of a multichannel network called Revelmode that produces videos, mobile apps and merchandise. But Kjellberg recently shocked fans when he released a series of videos containing anti-Semitic jokes and Nazi imagery. According to The Wall Street Journal, Kjellberg posted nine offensive videos over the past six months. A video posted on Jan. 11 featured two men holding a banner reading "Death to all Jews," and a video posted on Jan. 22, featured a man dressed as Jesus saying, "Hitler did absolutely nothing wrong." YouTube has not removed any of the videos, but the latter two were later pulled from the channel. The Swedish cyber-celebrity took to Tumblr to respond to the controversy, saying his videos should be understood as entertainment, and not political commentary. "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 [the crowd-sourcing platform] Fiverr would say anything for $5." He later added: "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. 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."
Disney severs ties with YouTube star over anti-Semitic videos
Entertainment giant drops Swedish online star Felix Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie, after series of offensive videos • With 53 million followers, Kjellberg is the most popular YouTube star in the world • Disney's Maker Studios: He went too far.
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