PewDiePie explains why he’s been banned in China
During his October 19 upload, YouTube king Felix ‘PewDiePie’ Kjellberg made the shocking announcement that his content has been banned in China, and explained why.
PewDiePie is the biggest content creator on YouTube with over 101 million subscribers and his audience spread all across the world. However, one place the Swede’s content is no longer welcome is China.
During his latest episode on October 19, the YouTuber surprised his audience when he revealed that his content had now been banned in the country, as he explained it was due to him reacting to a meme.
The Swede is the largest individual content creator on YouTube, with over 101 million fans across the world.PewDiePie banned in China
Pewds opened up to his audience about the ban by saying, “Well boys, we did it. I’m banned from China. After I spoke about the Hong Kong protests, and mocked their leader as looking like Winnie the Pooh, I got banned from China.”
He then explained that looking up his name in the country on any site, including Reddit or YouTube, will show up a blank result. While he found it amusing, he also apologized to fans.
“I’m laughing, but yeah I’m sorry if you are in China, and try to watch my videos. That kind of sucks. It’s just kind of funny.” The YouTube star said he expected the ban was coming, given the country’s history of censoring topics about Hong Kong.
What got PewDiePie banned?
The video that got the Swede banned was his October 16 episode of ‘Meme Review’ where the YouTube star reviewed the current popular memes on the internet. Half way into the segment, Pewds shifted focus to the Hong Kong protests happening right now against China.
He reacted to a meme about China’s leader Xi Jinping that compared him to Disney character Winnie the Pooh. “It became a meme that the Chinese leader looks exactly like Winnie the Pooh,” PewDiePie laughed. “The resemblance is uncanny!”
(Timestamp of 14:17 for mobile viewers.)
In 2017, the China government started censoring and banning the Disney character after bloggers started posting memes of the Chinese leader comparing him to the talking bear.
The country even banned the 2018 film ‘Christopher Robin’ starring Ewan McGregor from showing in Chinese cinemas after the leader was angry and considered the meme comparisons a form of propaganda.
While it’s unfortunate for PewDiePie fans in China that can no longer watch his content, the Swede doesn’t seem too bothered by it. The YouTube king has a history of speaking his mind, even when it can land him into hot water.
As of the time of this article, the Swede continues to dominate on YouTube with over 101 million subscribers and no signs of slowing down.