Celebrities
Liam O'Dell
Apr 07, 2023
KSI forced off social media for using racial slur in Sidemen video
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Influencer, boxer and musician KSI ā real name Olajide āJJā Olatunji ā has issued two apologies after saying a racial slur in a since deleted YouTube video on Sunday.
The 29-year-old, who co-owns the Prime drinks brand with fellow YouTuber Logan Paul, used a derogatory word aimed at Pakistani people in a video released by the creator group The Sidemen ā of which he is a member.
The group, who release weekly videos to their channel on āSidemen Sundaysā, uploaded their second take on popular daytime gameshow Countdown last week, in which KSI said the slur as his answer during a letters round.
The other six members of the group ā along with guest stars and musicians Yung Filly and Chunkz ā could then be seen bursting out laughing as they reacted to KSIās remarks.
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āLook, we need points, innit? I donāt mean this maliciously,ā he said, before uttering the slur.
The video was later removed when KSIās comments sparked widespread condemnation.
The reaction
After clips of KSIās remarks were reposted online, Twitter users slammed the ādehumanisingā comments, with some sharing their own experiences of abuse surrounding the word:
\u201cYou 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.\n\nWhen they catch up with you, I hope the dead countdown joke was worth it\u2026\ud83d\ude2c\n\nWakey Wines was getting his compensation in advance.\u201dā Guz Khan (@Guz Khan) 1680466206
\u201cKSI deserves every bit of hammering and I don\u2019t wanna hear any excuses or downplaying, particularly not in the name of black people when he\u2019s been anti-black himself for years\u201dā Jason Okundaye (@Jason Okundaye) 1680518313
\u201cPs as for KSI.. this is what happens when people who aren\u2019t particularly smart or sensible get given a huge platform. That word is not cool to use and out of interest doesn\u2019t he own an energy drink? And what community owns the majority of shops that stock it? #goodluck\u201dā Nabil Abdulrashid (@Nabil Abdulrashid) 1680534358
\u201cA lot's been deservedly thrown in KSI's direction over the disgusting racist language in that video. But *every single* one of The Sidemen should be ashamed. They carried on filming, no-one holding him to account. They're not children. They're very rich men who should know better\u201dā Charlene White (@Charlene White) 1680533937
\u201cBeen a KSI fan for the longest but so weird for him to say 'paki' in the latest Sidemen vid even if they bleeped it & it was 'in jest' for content\n\nOther racial slurs wouldn't be used as punchlines for YouTube gameshows. Just makes light of the word + certain people's experience.\u201dā Umir (@Umir) 1680463003
\u201cKSI used the word \u201cpaki\u201d in his latest sidemen video, as the rest of them laughed away. He has apologised. But what\u2019s worse is how some gen z south Asians were claiming \u201cwell we aren\u2019t offended\u201d. Let\u2019s talk.\u201dā smile2jannah (@smile2jannah) 1680494807
\u201c\ud83e\uddf5 The word 'Paki' has historically been used in a derogatory manner and has not been used as a term of endearment. The slur was not limited to those of Pakistani origin but anyone with brown skin.\u201dā ilmfeed (@ilmfeed) 1680514465
KSIās apologies
On Monday, KSI addressed the incident in a short statement issued to Twitter.
\u201cI wanna apologise for saying a racial slur in a recent Sidemen video. There\u2019s no excuse, no matter the circumstances, I shouldn\u2019t have said it and I\u2019m sorry. \n\nI\u2019ve always said to my audience that they shouldn\u2019t worship me or put me on a pedestal because I\u2019m human. Im not\u2026\u201dā ksi (@ksi) 1680490388
He wrote: āI wanna apologise for saying a racial slur in a recent Sidemen video. Thereās no excuse, no matter the circumstances, I shouldnāt have said it and Iām sorry.
āIāve always said to my audience that they shouldnāt worship me or put me on a pedestal because Iām human. Iām not perfect. Iām gonna mess up in life, and lately Iāve been messing up a lot.
āSo Iāve decided Iām gonna just take a break from social media for a while.ā
The statement alludes to a previous controversy which took place last month, in which the YouTuber posted a series of tweets online attacking boxing commentator Wade Plemons for comments he made about the commercial success of a fight between KSI and rival YouTuber Jake Paul.
KSI later tweeted that he was āactually sorryā, had spoken to Plemons and that the whole thing āhas just been a big misunderstandingā.
On Wednesday, the day he attended the press conference for the launch of his fight against professional boxer Joe Fournier, a second apology from KSI surfaced online.
āI recognise that Iāve caused a lot of hurt and disappointment to so many people ā so many people who look up to me ā and my ignorance has only reinforced the negative stereotypes that have existed for way too long in this country.
āPrivately, I have taken the time to engage in very early conversations with some people from South Asian communities, and will continue to do so in the coming weeks and months.
āI will continue to educate myself on the rich history and diverse cultures of South Asia, and the struggles faced by its people,ā he said.
Visiting a Bradford mosque
Wednesday also saw another video appear online in which KSI could be seen meeting with community members from the Al-Hikam Institute, a mosque in Bradford.
Confirming the visit in a Facebook post, Imam Muhammed Asim Hussain said he had a ālong, deep and genuinely sincere conversationā with the YouTuber.
āAs a leader in my community I donāt use my words lightly. KSI came here to Bradford to meet with me with pure intent to start the pathway to right his wrong and the first step is to gain a deeper understanding and education of his mistake.
āHe realises the extent of his mistake and is genuinely remorseful and apologetic for the hurt he caused the South Asian community. The history of the Pakistani and South Asian community in British society was explained to him and the dangers of normalising offensive slurs to his audience was highlighted at length.
āHe came with a genuinely remorseful heart and good intention, he brought no cameras and was filmed by our own enthusiastic community members in their excitement of meeting and seeing KSI unexpectedly here in Bradford.ā
The Sidemen statements
In addition to KSI issuing his own, personal apology for the remarks he made in the Countdown video, a collective group statement was issued on behalf of The Sidemen on Monday.
\u201chttps://t.co/FRJBDQttiu\u201dā Sidemen (@Sidemen) 1680523032
It read: āWe accept that [the use of the slur] was completely unacceptable and inexcusable. The fact the incident was made light of on the show was wrong and compounded the hurt. We deeply regret this and would like to truly apologise.
āWe have reflected on this incident both collectively and individually and are truly ashamed that we let ourselves and you guys down in this way.
āWe want to use our channels to promote positivity and great entertainment. We stand against racism and discrimination of any kind and we failed to do that.ā
Alongside KSI, the group of creators is made up of Josh āZerkaaā Bradley; Ethan āBehzingaā Payne; Tobi āTobjizzleā Brown; Simon āMiniminterā Minter; Harry āWroeToShawā Lewis and Vikram āVikkstarā Barn.
Individual statements have also been issued by its members.
Barn wrote that āas a South Asian, I fell short of my responsibility to ensure this racial slur, that sadly Iām all too familiar with, is not tolerated or trivialisedā, while Bradley encouraged followers not to āblindly defend usā but ābe both sensitive and understanding to the frustrations of those that are hurtā.
Payne said he was ādeeply sorry for causing such hurtā, while Minter said he is āgenuinelyā sorry āfrom the bottom of my heartā and that āit wonāt happen againā.
Brown added: āIād like to apologise personally and sincerely to the South Asian community for my lack of action in the situation, particularly having spoken passionately against racism before.
āRegardless of context or intent, the word should never have been said, allowed to be said, and then even upon edit allowed to be kept in. It showed a huge amount of ignorance on our part as to exactly how offensive it is.ā
Lewis is yet to issue a personal statement addressing the incident, and guests Chunkz and Yung Filly havenāt commented publicly either.
Other controversies
In 2015 KSI released a video apologising for a trend he created known as the ārape faceā, saying it was āsomething I should never have made light ofā and that he āfullyā regrets it.
Past videos have also seen him falsely tell a crowd of people he's gay as a "prank", and release a skit in which an individual can "avoid a fight" by being gay.
More recently, in 2021, JJ issued an apology after a fan pointed out his past use of a transphobic slur.
āMy bad for saying transgender slurs. Honestly didnāt even know they were slurs. I know now though,ā he said.
It is not yet known whether The Sidemen will release their weekly video this Sunday.
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