Liza Koshy, Jenna Marbles and More YouTubers Apologize for Racist Content
Some YouTubers are no strangers to an apology video. Liza Koshy, Jenna Marbles, Shane Dawson and more internet stars have issued apologies for their past racially insensitive content amid the Black Lives Matter movement.
Koshy, for her part, made headlines in June 2020 when a since-deleted video with then-boyfriend David Dobrik resurfaced. In the video titled “Couples Trying Japanese Candy,” the twosome pretended to have Asian accents while snacking on candy from Japan and Hawaii.
“It’s not racist, that’s like the sounds I hear when they talk,” Dobrik said in the resurfaced clip.
The Liza on Demand star then replied, “No, it’s not racist as long as I keep saying no.”
Both Dobrik and Koshy have more than 17 million subscribers on their respective YouTube channels. While Koshy released a lengthy apology via Instagram, Dobrik has yet to publicly comment.
“As a woman of color and self-defined ‘little brown girl,’ I have experienced the harm of prejudices in my own life,” Koshy wrote, admitting she “unknowingly perpetuated racist ideas” in the past. “This reality does not exempt me from the responsibility of acknowledging the times I’ve unknowingly perpetuated racist ideas. I see now that some of my previous influences and my own past thinking, speaking and storytelling reinforced stereotypes. I created characters of different cultures with the intent of celebrating them, but with the impact of appropriating them.”
Marbles, meanwhile, announced in June 2020 that she is taking a break from her channel, which has more than 20 million subscribers. The personality, whose real name is Jenna Nicole Mourey, came under fire for wearing blackface to impersonate Nicki Minaj and for mocking Asian people.
“I’m literally just here to have a good time, and I don’t think I’m having a good time, and it seems like maybe some other people aren’t having a good time, so, for now, I just can’t exist on this channel,” Marbles said through tears. “I’m not sure that I want to continue doing stuff on this channel. I don’t want to put anything out in the world that’s gonna hurt anybody. I need to be done with this channel for now or forever, I don’t know. Good talk.”
Scroll through for more YouTubers who have spoken out amid the backlash:
In Koshy’s apology statement, she explained that what she thought were “innocent jokes” are “actually tainted with implicit bias, and what might have been intended as 'playful' was actually to some, incredibly painful. And for that, I am so sorry."
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The creator, who has more than 30 million subscribers across his three popular channels, released an apology video for several offensive remarks including wearing blackface, using the N-Word and perpetuating stereotypes of minorities.
“Blackface was something that I did a lot. … And there’s no excuse for it. There’s literally no excuse. I made a video six years ago talking about it, and I gave excuses, and it was wrong. But I didn’t do the work. I didn’t actually look into the history of it and why it’s so wrong and why people were so upset,” he said in a video titled “Taking Accountability,” shared on June 26. “I’m so sorry that I was just so thoughtless about the things I was posting for so many years. I don’t know. I just wasn’t thinking. I thought, ‘Oh, I’m in a weird category where I can say whatever I want.’ And I did. And now it’s the biggest regret in my life,” he concluded. “I don’t have hate in my heart for anyone, but it doesn’t make up for the fact that I made jokes about everyone.”
Dawson also acknowledged his past inappropriate jokes about pedophilia in the 20-minute video. In one resurfaced clip, Dawson pretended to get caught masturbating to an image of Willow Smith, who was 11 years old at the time.
“I would never talk about a child in any way that was inappropriate. That is disgusting,” he said in the apology video. “That is gross. It is not something I would ever do. It’s something I did for shock value or because I thought it was funny.”
Willow’s mother, Jada Pinkett Smith, and brother, Jaden Smith, later called him out via Twitter.
“To Shane Dawson ... I’m done with the excuses,” Jada wrote.
Jaden added, “SHANE DAWSON I AM DISGUSTED BY YOU. YOU SEXUALIZING AN 11-YEAR-OLD GIRL WHO HAPPENS TO BE MY SISTER!!!!!! IS THE FURTHEST THING FROM FUNNY AND NOT OKAY IN THE SLIGHTEST BIT.”
YouTube has subsequently suspended monetization across Dawson’s channels.
Courtesy of Shane Dawson/Instagram
“It was not my intention to do blackface,” Marbles said. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that people are offended and it hurt them and for that I am so unbelievably sorry.”
She concluded: “I’m just a person trying to navigate the world the same way that you are. I don’t always know what’s right and what wrong, what the truth is. I’m just trying my best. As someone clearly with their own past that they’re not proud of, I do just try to see people for they are right now, today, and that they’re not defined by their pasts, and I understand. I’m trying to do the same thing that you are and support and be friends with people that I’m proud of and that I love, and just know that I’m doing my best.”
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The teenager shut down allegations that one of her backup dancers wore blackface makeup in the music video for her song “Nonstop” in June 2020.
“We’re talking about kids dressing up as circus animals! No one in my video is wearing blackface,” Siwa, who has 11.4 million subscribers, said via Instagram. “It’s awful that anyone’s mind would even go there. Kids dressing in animal costumes, having their faces painted to look like animals, acting the part. There were zebras, tigers, dogs, clowns, mermaids, everything.”
She added: “I’m on the right side of history here. Stop trying to make this about something it isn’t. I love my real fans and am so grateful for their love and support. Instead of trying to drag everyone down, let’s be positive and come back like a boomerang.”
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Ballinger, known to her nearly 9 million YouTube subscribers as Miranda Sings, apologized in May 2020 for an old sketch that she admitted was "completely based in racial stereotypes.”
"It is not funny, and it is completely hurtful. … I am so ashamed and embarrassed that I ever thought this was OK. I was a sheltered teenager who was stupid and ignorant and clearly extremely culturally insensitive,” Ballinger said in a video titled “Addressing Everything” on May 12. ”[I] grew from it and learned from it and realized how hurtful it could be," Ballinger said. “And now I want to right my wrongs and make a difference so that other people don't make the same mistakes that I made when I was a kid."
Courtesy of Miranda Sings/Instagram
After fellow YouTuber and former collaborator Kahlen Barry called out Mongeau for using the N-word in the past, she took to Twitter.
“First, I’d like to apologize to Kahlen directly for my silence, there are no excuses, I should have talked and listened to you. instead, I’ve been trying to find the words to address this and apologize in a way that won’t further hurt anyone, and educate myself on how to handle this properly. i am so sorry that came with any silence,” she tweeted on June 22. “I want to be the best version of myself who continues to grow. But I know that just educating myself isn’t enough to truly grow, and I need to take accountability for my past actions, and address them in order to truly grow."
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