Overwatch caster responds to bizarre backlash over PewDiePie Tweet R: Robert Paul for Blizzard EntertainmentWhen Overwatch League caster Brennon \u2018Bren\u2019 Hook posted a seemingly innocent Tweet suggesting that his followers subscribe to PewDiePie, he likely didn\u2019t expect the backlash he received from some users. Swedish YouTuber Felix \u2018PewDiePie\u2019 Kjellberg is currently the most subscribed creator on the platform, but is locked in a battle with Indian production company T-Series, chasing him for the top spot. Ongoing for months now, PewDiePie has maintained a slender lead, thanks largely to the help of other YouTubers, influencers and the internet at large. As such, the phrase \u2018subscribe to PewDiePie\u2019 has become somewhat viral, with users posting it on YouTube comments, Twitch chats and of course, Twitter. Bren decided to get in on the meme on January 25, simply posting \u2018subscribe to PewDiePie please\u2019 \u2013 but some of his followers were less than pleased with his endorsement. Some even went as far as to suggest that Bren was \u201cdown with people who use racial slurs\u201d. I\u2019ve been subscribed to pewdiepie since 2011. After his racism and acting like a dick, I unsubscribed. I\u2019m so over hearing about this asshole. \u2014 :pensive: (@shave_on) January 26, 2019 Another user suggested that Blizzard, who operate the Overwatch League, would request that Bren delete the post. I give this a few days before blizzard tells you to delete this LOL \u2014 andrew \/ ADS (@ads_is_bads) January 26, 2019 The backlash stems from a previous controversy in late 2017, when PewDiePie called an opponent in a game \u201ca fucking n****r\u201d, later apologizing by explaining it was in the \u201cheat of the moment\u201d and the worst word he could think of \u201cslipped out.\u201d This is one of numerous issues which have caused PewDiePie to be such a polarizing figure, but Bren didn\u2019t expect that his lighthearted post would be taken so seriously. Imagine thinking this tweet is serious. https:\/\/t.co\/pzbilTdjQF \u2014 Brennon Hook (@BrenCasts) January 26, 2019 Esports journalist Richard Lewis was also bemused at the stance some fans took, although didn\u2019t sound surprised that some had taken it so seriously as to think it represented Bren\u2019s \u201cpersonal politics\u201d. Imagine looking at this innocuous tweet and thinking it was some sort of commentary about your personal politics. This is the state of the internet. \u2014 Richard Lewis (@RLewisReports) January 27, 2019 PewDiePie is indeed a \u2018love him or hate him\u2019 personality, but given the ongoing craze about keeping his sub count higher than T-Series, Bren\u2019s Tweet was clearly posted in jest. Many fans are supporting PewDiePie as a means of standing up against the perceived favorable treatment afforded to large corporations on YouTube, and the less than favorable treatment of the everyday creator, which PewDiePie is the poster boy for. You can keep up with the battle for number one on YouTube between PewDiePie and T-Series here, with live subscriber counts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Overwatch caster responds to bizarre backlash over PewDiePie Tweet R: Robert Paul for Blizzard EntertainmentWhen Overwatch League caster Brennon \u2018Bren\u2019 Hook posted a seemingly innocent Tweet suggesting that his followers subscribe to PewDiePie, he likely didn\u2019t expect the backlash he received from some users. Swedish YouTuber Felix \u2018PewDiePie\u2019 Kjellberg is currently the most subscribed creator […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57000\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}