YouTubers and controversy go hand in hand. Over the years, content creators from across the gamut have been caught up in notorious incidents that have significantly impacted their careers and lives. Sometimes, they even mark the end of a person’s time on the YouTube platform. For PewDiePie – one of YouTube’s most prominent creators – his most infamous moment is remembered today as the bridge incident. But what was the PewDiePie bridge incident all about and why did it cause such uproar?
Before we get into the details and ramifications of the incident itself, it’s worth considering exactly who PewDiePie is. PewDiePie (real name Felix Kjellberg) has 111 million subscribers. That is a staggering amount by any measure.
Since his arrival on the video sharing platform in 2010, he has amassed 29 billion views on his YouTube channel. Over the course of his YouTube career, PewDiePie’s content has primarily focussed on gaming (and, by extension, Let’s Play videos) and comedy.
In 2019, his channel passed the 100 million subscriber mark. Among his numerous YouTube achievements, this is arguably the height of it all. But a couple of years before this, his career nearly came crashing down.
While he had faced lesser controversies before, nothing was quite as significant and damaging as the now infamous bridge incident.
What was the PewDiePie bridge incident?
The PewDiePie bridge incident occurred in mid-September 2017 during a PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds live stream.
After taking a moment to heal his character, PewDiePie began shooting at an enemy player on a bridge. They managed to avoid his shots and survive. The enemy player then killed PewDiePie’s downed teammate. In response, PewDiePie shouted: “What a f**king ni***r!”
Appearing to realise that he had just used a racial slur on live stream, he awkwardly said: “Geez, oh my God! What the f**k! Sorry, but what the f**k?! What a f**kin’ a**hole. I don’t mean that in a bad way… Jesus… F**k. Why would he do that?! Legit, why would he do that?”
If you’re interested to see what happened for yourself, you can still find footage of the bridge incident on YouTube.
PewDiePie bridge apology video
Understandably, PewDiePie faced severe criticism for his deplorable online behavior and racism during the PUBG live stream. It caused uproar on social media and received significant mainstream attention.
This prompted the YouTube sensation to release an apology video soon afterwards. Lasting just 1 minute and 35 seconds in total and titled “My Response”, Felix began by saying: “Hello. I wanted to make a statement on what I said in my previous live stream.”
Before apologising, he noted that he finds the use of the word among gamers to be “extremely immature” and “stupid” and explained that he hated that he had now “fed into that part of gaming as well.”
He continued by describing his use of the n-word as “something I said in the heat of the moment” and called it “the worst word I could possibly think of.” He stated that he wouldn’t “make any excuses” for his impulsive reaction during the heated moment and said he was “disappointed in myself because it seems like I’ve learned nothing from all these past controversies.”
Ultimately, he apologised and said: “I’m really sorry if I offended, hurt or disappointed anyone with all of this. Being in the position I am, I should know better. I know I can’t keep messing up like this.”
Seemingly recognising the potential impact of his words on his fans, he concluded: “I owe it to my audience and to myself to do better than this, because I know I’m better than this. I really want to improve myself and better myself not just for me, but for anyone that looks up to me or anyone that is influenced by me and that’s how I want to move forward away from this.”
Aftermath
Since his apology, PewDiePie has stepped back from YouTube and is now considered to be semi-retired. He uploads infrequently and focusses more on vlogging than gaming.
The incident still circulates the internet as a meme and is frequently brought up during conversations and debates about historic YouTube controversies.
Given the gravity of the incident at the time, it is unlikely that anyone will forget this infamous PewDiePie live stream any time soon.
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