By 2017, Felix Kjellberg — better known as PewDiePie — was the biggest YouTuber in the world, boasting over 50 million subscribers and a reputation as the face of online gaming culture. His mix of Let’s Plays, comedy sketches, and irreverent humour had made him a millionaire and one of the first internet creators to achieve true celebrity status.
But that same year, he posted a clip that would nearly derail his career. On 11 January 2017, PewDiePie paid two men on Fiverr to hold a sign that read “Death to All Jews.” He later claimed the stunt was a dark joke to test how far people would go for money, but viewers and journalists saw something far more sinister: an enormous influencer using hateful imagery as a punchline.
When Big Media Pulled the Plug
The reaction was immediate and expensive. Within weeks, major corporate partners distanced themselves: Disney’s Maker Studios cut ties and YouTube removed Kjellberg from its premium advertising program and cancelled the second season of his Scare PewDiePie series.
Those business decisions signalled that even huge online fame doesn’t insulate a creator from real commercial consequences when content crosses into hate-speech territory.
The Wall Street Journal’s Bigger Audit
The Fiverr clip turned out to be the headline moment in a broader pattern. The Wall Street Journal reported that PewDiePie had posted numerous videos — stretching back months — that included Nazi imagery, antisemitic jokes, or other deeply offensive material.
That investigation reframed the incident from a one-off “poor taste” joke into a string of choices that looked like, at best, reckless boundary-pushing and, at worst, normalising hateful tropes.
“I Didn’t Mean It That Way” — The Defence
Kjellberg apologised, insisting the Fiverr bit was meant to lampoon stupidity rather than endorse hatred. He argued much of his persona is ironic and absurdist and that the clips were taken out of context.
Even so, the defence didn’t erase the fallout: advertisers, platforms, and many viewers decided the content had crossed lines that irony couldn’t justify. The conversation quickly moved beyond intent to consequence — what billions of views end up amplifying, regardless of original purpose.
Satire or Normalisation?
That debate was the lasting impact. Critics argued the skits — especially when strung together — helped mainstream certain extremist symbols and language by cloaking them in “just jokes.” Supporters insisted Kjellberg was an edgelord comedian whose material was often misunderstood.
The tussle exposed a larger cultural problem: when creators with massive reach flirt with extremist imagery, the line between satire and normalization blurs, and platforms are forced to decide where to draw it.
What Happened To PewDiePie
Despite the scandal, PewDiePie’s career didn’t collapse. He remained one of the most-subscribed channels on YouTube for years afterward, eventually passing 100 million subscribers and cementing himself as one of the platform’s most successful creators of all time. In 2019, he married long-time partner Marzia Bisognin, and in 2023 the couple welcomed their first child. While he no longer uploads daily and has stepped back from the relentless grind that once defined his channel, he continues to post regularly and enjoys a loyal fanbase.
The Fiverr stunt may always be remembered as his lowest moment, but it didn’t end his career. Instead, PewDiePie has carried on comfortably — proof that even in the wake of scandal, the internet’s biggest stars can survive, adapt, and thrive.
This post is part of our Influencers Gone Wild series.