YouTuber sparks outrage after taking ASMR “too far” by eating live animals

Korean YouTuber ‘Ssoyoung’ is facing backlash from critics due to eating live animals in her viral ASMR mukbang videos — and some are asking that YouTube take action against the controversial content creator.

ASMR mukbang content has taken YouTube by storm in the past several years, combining the tingling sensations of the “autonomous sensory meridian response” with eating massive quantities of food.

While some YouTubers set themselves apart from the crowd by eating especially spicy noodles or huge lobster claws, Korean ASMR mukbang tuber ‘Ssoyoung’ has taken her content in a decidedly different direction.

This YouTuber is known for eating live animals as part of her mukbang experience, generally seafood like octopus or squid, often expressing fear or dismay at their flailing tentacles as she does so.

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Although concerned commenters have been speaking up about what they feel is animal abuse for some time, Ssoyoung has seen a new wave of backlash thanks to YouTube star Ethan Klein, who claimed that she is taking her content “too far” in a recent video denouncing her content.

“I think she knows that if she wasn’t acting at least a little squeamish and nervous about it, then she would be seen as a total sociopath,” Klein said of the issue. “But she clearly loves torturing animals. No question about it.”

Klein’s comments are echoed by many across YouTube, who have even asked the platform to remove her from the site due to the divisive nature of her videos.

“Why do people laugh at someone literally hitting and dropping a living animal on surfaces?” one critic commented. “I’m not a vegan and this has nothing to do with your diet, but this is straight up animal abuse.”

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“The [octopi] are fighting for their life, and she broadcasts it to the internet,” another wrote. “This is basically like uploading videos of torture. How is YouTube not striking her channel to oblivion for animal abuse?”

Thus far, Ssoyoung has yet to be removed from the site, nor has the YouTuber responded to the outrage, after compiling months worth of content that has received millions of views that even sites like Instagram have deemed as potentially sensitive.