KSI has sparked controversy after using a racial slur in one of his videos. The YouTuber and boxer appeared in his Sideman group video recently and used a word that is considered derogatory toward people of South Asian origin.
The 29 year old faced huge backlash and had to apologize publicly. He even announced that he would be stepping away from social media for a while. The British YouTuber, whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams “JJ” Olatunji, has over 16 million subscribers on the platform.
What did KSI Say? YouTuber’s Racial Slur Sparks Controversy
On Sunday, KSI featured in a YouTube video along with his Sidemen group. The group played a game based on the show Countdown, where each participant had to create the longest word possible from a combination of random vowels and consonants. KSI chose four letters and formed the word ‘p*ki.’
While his friends giggled over his choice, the rapper said, “I don’t mean this maliciously, but the word’s p*ki.” The slang is considered offensive and is used as a derogatory remark against people of Pakistan and South Asia in general. The video faced huge backlash and was eventually taken down from YouTube.
Nah @ksi you’re not funny man you cannot say “P*ki” in any context
These lot will do anything for content🙄pic.twitter.com/qrotwIkobr
— Kini🎋 (@lcfckini) April 2, 2023
KSI Apologizes for His Statement
On April 3, KSI took to Twitter to post an apology and announce that he would be stepping away from social media for some time. “I wanna apologise for saying a racial slur in a recent Sidemen video. There’s no excuse, no matter the circumstances, I shouldn’t have said it and I’m sorry,” he wrote.
“I’ve always said to my audience that they shouldn’t worship me or put me on a pedestal because I’m human. Im not perfect, I’m gonna mess up in life, and lately I’ve been messing up a lot. So I’ve decided I’m gonna just take a break from social media for a while,” the YouTuber added.
This is not the first time KSI has landed in trouble for his actions. Earlier in 2012, he was accused of sexual harassment at a Eurogamer event, after which Microsoft banned him from the expo. In 2021, he was accused of using transphobic slurs; however, the boxer claimed that he did not know the words he used were ‘bad.’
Social Media Outraged with KSI’s Racial Slur
A number of celebrities and fans are outraged by KSI’s comments and have slammed him on social media. Actor Guz Khan tweeted, “You see @KSI the issue you have here is that a lot of Pakistanis can make things very difficult for you and anyone giggling in this video. When they catch up with you, I hope the dead countdown joke was worth it.”
Racism towards South Asians is so normalised that not only does it get laughed at, it gets shared publicly for clout. If you have to preface a racial slur with “I don’t mean this maliciously but” then you know exactly what you’re saying, so KSI had better not plead ignorance now. https://t.co/MivrZfrYzM
— Madiha (@MadihaBlob) April 2, 2023
A fan said, “The fact that it made it on to YouTube, many people watched that numerous times and said ‘Yeah, that’s fine.’ And I think that’s worth noting, because again it just speaks of a normalization of a certain type of racism.”
“I had this racial slur thrown at me & got physical beats by racists for my entire childhood. Genuinely upset that @KSI (a guy my children love) did this & thought it was funny. The rest of them laughing can go f**k themselves too,” DJ Bobby Friction wrote.
For more news and updates, keep watching this space.
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