When PewDiePie was called out for 'anti-Asian' stereotypes: 'People are scream-ish and crazy'
Felix Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie, is one of the most famous YouTube personalities. Being the first YouTuber to hit a 100 million subscriber count, the former content king has been embroiled in many controversies in the past. One of these occurred when he was called out for spreading 'anti-Asian' stereotypes.
PewDiePie shared his views about Asians in a way that many people did not approve of. He stated that the way Asians reacted was different from people in other countries. PewDiePie made comments about people from countries like Malaysia and Singapore, calling them over-enthusiastic and saying they do crazy things.
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'Hectic, scream-ish, and crazy'
The Swedish YouTuber shared a video on his channel on December 29, 2019. The 21-minute video was titled 'Answering Very Personal Questions'. In the video, a fan asked PewDiePie how he felt when he noticed people secretly photographing him in public. To this, Pewdiepie responded, "It's extremely cringy. It happened, actually, when I was in Italy. Now, some guy did this (points his phone's camera) and then the flash went off, and I'm just like, 'Really?!' And then, they don't even go... and the worst part is, afterwards, they go up and be like, 'Hey! Can we do a photo?' And I'm like, 'You just took a photo.' It's super cringy!" as per Sportskeeda.
In a candid moment, PewDiePie voiced his frustration about being treated as a mere attraction by fans rather than recognized as a person. During this discussion, he shared his observations about interacting with individuals from different regions, particularly Malaysia and Singapore, describing them as "hectic, scream-ish, and crazy".
Drawing a comparison to his home country, PewDiePie expressed his appreciation for the reserved and polite nature of people in Sweden. He found them to be more calm, reserved, and genuinely kind in their demeanor, which resonated with him on a personal level.
'It felt like we were being hunted'
On January 4, 2020, PewDiePie released a video titled 'PewDiePie NETWORTH revealed! Pew News' where he took the opportunity to apologize for his previous statements that sparked controversy. PewDiePie explained, "I was comparing fan culture from different countries; going in the more Asian region, compared to small Scandavandian countries. You know? It's very, very different! So, that made me think that's a strange behavior."
Felix expressed his frustration with the situation he encountered during his stay in Malaysia, he said, "The reason I was so annoyed in Malaysia was because people were literally entering our hotel. And it felt we couldn't leave our hotel, because... people were just looking for us. It felt like we were being hunted, almost."