A YouTube spokesperson (via Variety) said, "We've decided to cancel the release of Scare PewDiePie Season 2 and we're removing the PewDiePie channel from Google Preferred." No reason for the removals was given, though it is likely the decision is related to the vlogger's controversial anti-Semitic content.
Nine of PewDiePie's videos are alleged to contain anti-Semitic imagery, including one recent video that featured the YouTube star commissioning two comedians to make a "Death to all Jews" banner. Disney subsidiary Maker Studios has cut ties with PewDiePie as a result of the content.
Scare PewDiePie was a YouTube series in which the vlogger, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, was exposed to a number of frightening, video game-inspired scenarios intended to scare him. The series was a joint venture between the aforementioned Maker Studios and The Walking Dead company Skybound Entertainment. It was exclusive to Google's premium video subscription service, YouTube Red.
Google Preferred, meanwhile, is an ad program in which companies can sign up to advertise on YouTube's most popular channels. At over 53 million subscribers, PewDiePie is the most-subscribed channel on the entire service, but--according to the reports--he will no longer be featured in Google Preferred.
PewDiePie previously responded to the controversy by stating he in no way supports "any kind of hateful attitudes," and says his channel is not the place to come for serious politics. "I make videos for my audience," he wrote, "I think of the content that I create as entertainment, and not a place for any serious political commentary. I know my audience understand that and that is why they come to my channel. Though this was not my intention, I understand that these jokes were ultimately offensive."
YouTube guidelines forbid content that "promotes violence or hatred against individuals or groups," including language that attacks someone for their race, gender, sexuality, or religion.
PewDiePie is yet to respond to this latest news.
