PewDiePie apologises after posting tweet mocking Demi Lovato for overdose

The YouTube star claimed not to 'mean anything' with the post

Andrew Griffin
Thursday 26 July 2018 04:46 EDT
Comments
PewDiePie asks if his channel is losing subscribers 'because I'm white'

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

YouTuber PewDiePie has apologised after sharing a joke that appeared to mock Demi Lovato's recent health problems.

The star, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, tweeted an image that joked about reports that Lovato had suffered a heroin overdose.

PewDiePie has since apologised.

"Deleted meme," he wrote on Twitter. "I didnt mean anything with it and I didnt fully know about the situation. I realize now it was insensitive, sorry!"

Lovato was initially reported to have been rushed to hospital following a heroin overdose. It has since been reported that her hospitalisation may have been the result of another drug.

Many of Kjellberg's followers replied to his apology post to say that they saw nothing wrong in the original tweet.

"Felix, you need to stand your ground more," read one post that has been liked more than 1,200 times. "It was a joke, and we all know people on Twitter are overly sensitive."

It is far from the first time that Kjellberg has been involved in a controversy over posts that have been attacked as insensitive or offensive. Last year, for instance, he was dropped by both Disney and YouTube's advertising service after he posted a video in which he paid two men to hold up a sign reading "death to all Jews".

Kjellberg still remains the site's most popular user by far, with more than 60 million subscribers. His Twitter account has more than 15 million followers.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in