Current Events > Why did PewDiePie get away with saying the n word?

(+) Yeah! (+)

He used it as an insult and it was the hard r. It wasn't necessarily directed at a black person but still, not a good look.

And then everyone kinda forgave him and moved on.

When people complain about cancel culture I always think of this. PewDiePie was definitely not cancelled. Are people actually just forgiving or did he get away with it because he's a high profile guy with a lot of fans

---

Protopet posted...

because he's a high profile guy with a lot of fans

This. He has tons of fans and they're comprised mostly of preteens and adult Nazis

---

Because attention quickly shifted to other people

---

His fanbase is full of children and alt-right chuds

---

No one forgave him. His fans don't care and everyone else who isn't a fan already didn't like him

While he is guilty of wrongspeak, his fanbase is big enough that context mattered.

Because it wasn't a big deal. Saying the n word is frowned on, but it's not grounds for exile from society.

---

Rhylos posted...

While he is guilty of wrongspeak, his fanbase is big enough that context mattered.

What context? That he spouts racial slurs when angry?

---

His fanbase are kids

Because there is no such thing as cancel culture, and even when you say someone was wrong for something, like hunting a black man to murder. Anti Cancel Culture people will have flip out.

---

Several N Bombs in early GameGrumps too.

---

https://youtu.be/y02FNymINTU

Pretty good video

---

I've wondered how exactly swearing in a second language works in the brain. People were always lambasting him saying "I've never accidentally said that" over and over, but I don't think they remember that English is his second language. Regardless, he got justifiably shat on, lost some deals (I think), he apologized, and everyone moved on. That's how that shit should go.

Nemu posted...

I've wondered how exactly swearing in a second language works in the brain. People were always lambasting him saying "I've never accidentally said that" over and over, but I don't think they remember that English is his second language. Regardless, he got justifiably shat on, lost some deals (I think), he apologized, and everyone moved on. That's how that shit should go.

Lmao this is fucking bullshit. He's fluent in English, they learn English young in Sweden, and they don't just accidentally say the n-word either

---

I remember when he said the Gamer word....

The truth is, when you have a MASSIVE following and depending on the platform, you are basically unstoppable and can nearly get away with ANYTHING. This even comes from several Youtubers who got accused of being pedos.

Literally Jake paul recorded a dead body in Japan. Tana mogeu was exposed for saying the gamer word, other yotubers doing bad things, etc etc etc.

Guess what? all of them are STILL HERE and making bank every month to this day. It's just how it is.. unless the platform take action which is very unlikely.

Basically.. if you have a massive following and make tons of $$$$$, you're unstoppable.

---

RAAAWWWRRR posted...

I remember when he said the Gamer word....

The truth is, when you have a MASSIVE following and depending on the platform, you are basically unstoppable and can nearly get away with ANYTHING. This even comes from several Youtubers who got accused of being pedos.

Literally Jake paul recorded a dead body in Japan. Tana mogeu was exposed for saying the gamer word, other yotubers doing bad things, etc etc etc.

Guess what? all of them are STILL HERE and making bank every month to this day. It's just how it is.. unless the platform take action which is very unlikely.

Basically.. if you have a massive following and make tons of $$$$$, you're unstoppable.

Youtube doesn't do shit because they bring the revenue

---

Remember when he was gonna make a donation to the ACLU or something, but his fans complained so he decided not to?

---

Shezarr posted...

Lmao this is fucking bullshit. He's fluent in English, they learn English young in Sweden, and they don't just accidentally say the n-word either

are you a swedish expert too now

---

Choco posted...

are you a swedish expert too now

You're a fluent ESL speaker. Do you accidentally say the n-word sometimes?

---

He did get shit for it and lost some deals and stuff didn't he?

Idubbz used the n and f word regularly in every video and afaik no one ever batted an eye. I never got that really.

Also I dont care that one Tanya whatever video he did was hilarious.

---

He lost his YouTube show


---

The truth is, it's actually not that big of a deal. It's a hurtful thing to say when it's said with the specific intent to belittle somebody for their ethnicity, and it would be best to rid it from one's vocabulary... but, at the end of the day, it's just a word. I don't use it. I don't think it should be used. .. but I'm not going to stop enjoying an entertainer's content because he let one slip without thinking about it.

---

Gobstoppers12 posted...

The truth is, it's actually not that big of a deal

username checks out

---

Famous enough to get away with it.

A medium fry probably gets their channel shut down.

---

Shezarr posted...

username checks out

Okay, what exactly do you think should happen? He should be banned from YouTube? He should be arrested? What do you think is a fitting consequence for saying a word in a moment of anger?

---

Because when people don't become repeat offenders (EDIT: and don't double-down), shit like this actually goes away pretty damn quickly.

---

Gobstoppers12 posted...

The truth is, it's actually not that big of a deal. It's a hurtful thing to say when it's said with the specific intent to belittle somebody for their ethnicity, and it would be best to rid it from one's vocabulary... but, at the end of the day, it's just a word. I don't use it. I don't think it should be used. .. but I'm not going to stop enjoying an entertainer's content because he let one slip without thinking about it.

This is a shit take.

---

He got some shit for it in the media and online. He lost a couple deals. He apologized. And eventually most people either moved on or quietly harbor a grudge.

I dont know what else you'd expect to happen.

Gobstoppers12 posted...

Okay, what exactly do you think should happen? He should be banned from YouTube? He should be arrested? What do you think is a fitting consequence for saying a word in a moment of anger?

I think people should stop supporting racists and platforms should stop paying them, yes.

"Moment of anger" my ass. This is also a guy who paid people to hold up a sign declaring death to jews

---

Several people in this topic wish they could get away with using the N word it seems, trying to dismiss it as "no big deal".

---

Mr_Karate_II posted...

This is a shit take.

It's the reasonable take. People are human, they say things without thinking, they regret it, etc. etc.

If your idea of a correct response is to permanently harm someone's livelihood over a single word, even after an apology, seems like you're looking for an act of revenge rather than an attempt to reduce the behavior.

Truth is, his fans like him. They don't really care if he says offensive things from time to time. YouTube bans their single most iconic creator... then what? He goes somewhere else and brings his audience with him.

---

Shezarr posted...

"Moment of anger" my ass. This is also a guy who paid people to hold up a sign declaring death to jews

---

Gobstoppers12 posted...

Okay, what exactly do you think should happen? He should be banned from YouTube? He should be arrested? What do you think is a fitting consequence for saying a word in a moment of anger?

He should have been banned for saying it,that's a word that's in his vocabulary since he let it fly pretty easily. It wasn't an accident or whatever other bullshit he claimed.

---

Bass_X0 posted...

Several N Bombs in early GameGrumps too.

For sure. Arin wasn't a saint, and he cleaned up as the Grumps audience began to skew younger, but I feel like a lot of the really bad stuff was Jon.

I'm watching a 12 hour compilation rn, and it compares the moments where both the Jon and Danny eras get the Freeze Cracker in Mega Man 7. When Arin points out it sounds like a black cop busting a white perp, Jon goes "A black cop arresting a white guy? That'll be the day!"

And like on its own you can excuse it as edgy internet humor from the turn of the decade, but considering Jon's multiple n-bombs before that and his general demeanor and issues since, it's really uncomfortable to listen to. Like Danny still did like an imitation of a deep-voiced black cop, but he didn't follow it up with a comment about how unlikely it was for black people to be arresting white people.

Though I will say that even in the early Dan era of Game Grumps, Arin says dumb shit like that. There's a clip I saw a while back where he says the c-slur. He's roleplaying as a racist character, but it doesn't excuse the fact that he just dropped a slur in a racist context, regardless of how much he tried to distance himself from the character saying it.

---

No cancel culture at the time

He did get called out and in trouble for it

HE was indirectly the reason for the YouTube Ad-apocolypse which people tend to forget which WAS a much bigger deal

Other bad stuff happened irl so people kinda moved on with their life

Different times


---

Shezarr posted...

I think people should stop supporting racists and platforms should stop paying them, yes.

"Moment of anger" my ass. This is also a guy who paid people to hold up a sign declaring death to jews

You clearly don't recognize the difference between "racism" and vocabulary choices.

As for the second thing, do you think he did that as a joke, or do you think he actually advocates for the death of all jews? There is a correct answer. Please respond accurately.

---

Gobstoppers12 posted...

You clearly don't recognize the difference between "racism" and vocabulary choices.

lmao shut the fuck up.

Gobstoppers12 posted...

do you think he did that as a joke, or do you think he actually advocates for the death of all jews

I think the distinction is entirely irrelevant. And "joke" anti-semitism and racism often leads right into the real thing.

---

Gobstoppers12 posted...

You clearly don't recognize the difference between "racism" and vocabulary choices.

Good God. Stop.

---

Mr_Karate_II posted...

He should have been banned for saying it,that's a word that's in his vocabulary since he let it fly pretty easily. It wasn't an accident or whatever other bullshit he claimed.

So you want revenge. You want to see him cast out, even though he apologized and his fans forgave him? That's bitter, vindictive, and does nothing to improve the situation.

---

Gobstoppers12 posted...

It's the reasonable take. People are human, they say things without thinking, they regret it, etc. etc.

If you're idea of a correct response is to permanently harm someone's livelihood over a single word, even after an apology, seems like you're looking for an act of revenge rather than an attempt to reduce the behavior.

Truth is, his fans like him. They don't really care if he says offensive things from time to time. YouTube bans their single most iconic creator... then what? He goes somewhere else and brings his audience with him.

His "apology" was shit and they only reason he even said anything about it was because he got caught saying it. He's the type to say it quite frequently. His fans are probably racists too since they don't care if he uses slurs and says other offensive shit. Saying what he said is a big deal, its fucked up,stop defending him by saying it isn't a big deal.

---

I get the feeling Rebel is one of those people who if you were to search through their own archive of deleted tweets / etc, you'd find far more N bombs than Pewdiepie ever dropped.

---

Umbreon posted...

Several people in this topic wish they could get away with using the N word it seems, trying to dismiss it as "no big deal".

No, we're simply being realistic. It only ever becomes a big deal because of snowflakes trying to blow the situation up as some grand controversy. It's perfectly fine to think someone shouldn't use the n-word, but expecting their life to be destroyed over it is just stupid. It's simply not that serious.

---

CanuckCowboy posted...

Good God. Stop.

It wasn't said in a racist manner. He wasn't saying it directly to somebody. He yelled it in the same way somebody might say "you motherfucker."

It's not the evidence of racism you guys seem to think it is. Words are words. What matters is intent.

---

Gobstoppers12 posted...

So you want revenge. You want to see him cast out, even though he apologized and his fans forgave him? That's bitter, vindictive, and does nothing to improve the situation.

His fans forgave him because they probably think it's ok to say offensive racist shit.

---

Trumble posted...

I get the feeling Rebel is one of those people who if you were to search through their own archive of deleted tweets / etc, you'd find far more N bombs than Pewdiepie ever dropped.

I don't tweet and unlike you I'm entirely consistent in my beliefs. The n-word has never been part of my vocabulary because I'm not and have never been a racist piece of shit. I had a good upbringing and have lots of black family ffs.

---

Shezarr posted...

You're a fluent ESL speaker. Do you accidentally say the n-word sometimes?

no but what that poster said doesn't seem completely unrealistic to me.

i mean the german n word is considered offensive but not nearly as much as in america and there's no culture of "only black people are allowed to say it" so i wouldn't be surprised if a german thought it wasn't a huge deal to say it in english (especially if they're old or uneducated) though thankfully with a german accent there would be no hard r lol.

i'm not even trying to defend pewdiepie here i just see no reason to go off like that at the idea that being esl *might* have been a factor.

---

Trumble posted...

I get the feeling Rebel is one of those people who if you were to search through their own archive of deleted tweets / etc, you'd find far more N bombs than Pewdiepie ever dropped.

what a weird thing to say

---

Shezarr posted...

I don't tweet and unlike you I'm entirely consistent in my beliefs. The n-word has never been part of my vocabulary because I'm not and have never been a racist piece of shit. I had a good upbringing and have lots of black family ffs.

i habe a black frend!

---

Mr_Karate_II posted...

His fans forgave him because they probably think it's ok to say offensive racist shit.

Or...orrrr... follow with me now... because it was just an expression of anger and was in no way indicative of his feelings on any particular ethnicity or culture. Because it's just a word.

I've seen the boondocks. I've seen Django Unchained. I've heard a fuck-load of rap music. It's not like we've never heard the word before.

---