【Frauen ohne Unschuld】

How far is Frauen ohne Unschuldtoo far?

For PewDiePie -- ranked Forbes' highest-paid YouTube star of 2015 and 2016 -- that question had never been a problem.

In the last year, the Swedish gamer has: tweeted that he and YouTuber Jacksepticeye have "joined ISIS"; bashed reporters for singling him out in articles about the Federal Trade Commission and Warner Bros. "pay for play" settlement; hated on a rival channel which stars a 5-year-old; and trolled fans by saying he would delete his channel after he reached 50 million subscribers but instead deleted a secondary channel he barely uses.

Despite this, most fans stood by PewDiePie, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg. His business partners remained silent about his often inappropriate jokes and actions.

SEE ALSO: YouTube cancels PewDiePie show after anti-Semitic jokes

But on Monday, PewDiePie's trolling -- posting videos containing anti-Semitic "jokes" and Nazi imagery -- cost him his biggest business relationships: Disney and YouTube.

Disney's digital entertainment company Maker Studios dropped PewDiePie after The Wall Street Journal'sextensive review of the YouTubers recent videos. YouTube subsequently canceled season two of its Red series Scare PewDiePie, and removed the star -- one of their biggest names -- from the Google Preferred advertising program.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

This is the first time such a huge YouTube star -- arguably the biggest YouTuber -- has faced such repercussions for his actions.

Now, the industry is at a crossroads. Will businesses reliant on YouTubers for revenue scrutinize their content more? And if they do, will it even matter for these stars, who have already built their own massive followings?

"This is a critical moment for the oftentimes awkward dance that YouTubers and brands have been doing," said Chris Allieri, principal, Mulberry & Astor, a communications and public affairs consultancy. "It’s a risk for brands to associate with YouTube talent, especially the irreverent and at times controversial ones."

If PewDiePie mostly survives this big of a scandal, it will mean that anything goes in the YouTube world. And businesses may not even have a say.

'Broadcast Yourself'

Since its inception 10 years ago, YouTube has operated under the motto "broadcast yourself."

That in turn has made the platform home to anyone and everyone who wants to voice their views via vlogging. Overnight, an average Joe with solid views could become a celebrity.

For that reason, fear of consequence doesn’t prevail in the digital space. Most digital stars aren’t contracted at a studio and most don’t have a small army of handlers to whom they are accountable.

Many digital influencers achieved fame for themselves. And since their uncensored selves are the reason for their fame, they don’t listen anyway, many in the industry who have worked with creators have told Mashable.

Credit: getty images

There have been other instances where agencies and PR firms have dropped clients over conduct. But it's never been this public, nor has it been with someone considered one of YouTube's biggest personalities.

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YouTube has never really censored PewDiePie. The platform's guidelines give creators permission to be satirical. However, “controversial or sensitive subjects and events, including subjects related to war, political conflicts, natural disasters and tragedies, even if graphic imagery is not shown” are prohibited.

In a statement sent to reporters early on Tuesday morning, a YouTube spokesperson confirmed that the platform has decided to kill Season 2 of PewDiePie's show and remove the PewDiePie channel from Google Preferred. The company, however, will not remove any of his channels.

For some in the industry, PewDiePie's scandal serves as a reminder of what needs to be done when creators cross the line.

"There should be repercussions for any talent on any medium for promoting hate and intolerance," Keith Richman, president of Defy Media, said in an interview. "We should value free speech and his right to say it, but that does not mean there should not be repercussions."

Others, like Allieri, said it will help YouTubers with positive messages rise.

"I think that the horrible comments PewDiePie made and -- equally important -- his troubling response to the backlash, will give pause to the savvier YouTubers who are looking to associate with brands, monetize their channels and want to be known for bringing folks together and making people feel good."

Fan support vs. business backing

PewDiePie got his start in 2010 making funny videos of himself playing games. He was one of the pioneers of the now popular "Let's Play" YouTube genre, which features video game-play alongside footage of the player’s narration and reactions.

Maker Studios, which Disney purchased in 2014 for a whopping $675 million, boasts a network of about 55,000 independent creators who collectively draw in 10 billion views per month. PewDiePie, who joined the network in 2012 with just 3 million subscribers, was their biggest star by far.

YouTube had him plastered on billboards across the globe. Susanne Daniels, Head of YouTube Originals, has used Scare PewDiePie as an example of a successful series that actually drew in fans to YouTube Red.

PewDiePie now has over 53 million subscribers to his main channel.

His book This Book Loves Youmade the New York Timesbestseller list and his YouTube Red series Scare PewDiePie-- before being canceled -- was a top performer. His second video game, PewDiePie’s Tuber Simulator,was downloaded more than 1 million times within 24 hours of its release.

Some think losing Maker Studios and YouTube's support will definitely damage PewDiePie's reputation.

"The things he posted and portrayed give license to supremacism by normalizing hate speech," Allieri said. "Disney, Maker and YouTube helped him grow his presence - without them (or his other advertisers) he will be seriously challenged. Whether or not he immediately loses followers will remain to be seen.  But this is a black mark that he may never shed.  Ever."

But many of PewDiePie's most fervent fans seem to disagree. On Twitter, some were confused why PewDiePie was trending (pointing out that he had made it on BBC News). Others called out Disney and YouTube for cutting ties.

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In general, the attitude toward PewDiePie among the YouTube community has either been burning hatred or fervent love.

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Even YouTuber Phil DeFranco, known for his videos about news and pop culture, suggested on Twitter the news could elevate PewDiePie rather than harm him.

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YouTube star Casey Neistat, who announced in November that he is no longer going to keep a daily vlog, also weighed in.

"I'd like to preface all of it by saying I've met PewDiePie... in my very best judgment I don't think the guy has a hateful bone in his body," Neistat says in the video. "I don't think his intent was to spread hate ... [but] when you have 53 million subscribers it does come with a responsibility and that responsibility is to understand your audience and understand how your words are going to be interpreted. So while you are may be saying something is a joke, your audience may not always interpret it as that."

PewDiePie didn't respond to Mashable'srequest for comment.

But on Sunday, he posted on his Tumblr that he wanted to “clear some things up" about some of his videos featuring the anti-Semitic remarks.

"This originated from a video I made a couple of weeks ago," he wrote in the post. "I was trying to show how crazy the modern world is, specifically some of the services available online. I picked something that seemed absurd to me—That people on Fiverr would say anything for 5 dollars. I think it’s important to say something and I want to make one thing clear: I am in no way supporting any kind of hateful attitudes. I make videos for my audience. I think of the content that I create as entertainment, and not a place for any serious political commentary. I know my audience understand that and that is why they come to my channel. Though this was not my intention, I understand that these jokes were ultimately offensive. As laughable as it is to believe that I might actually endorse these people, to anyone unsure on my standpoint regarding hate-based groups: No, I don’t support these people in any way."

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