Youtuber KSI apologises, takes a break from social media after racial slur controversy. It's not the first time

When it comes to drama, it’s fair to say Olajide Olayinka “KSI” Olatunji has been through it all

British YouTuber, rapper, and boxer Olajide Olayinka Williams JJ Olatunji, known professionally as KSI, has issued an apology after using a racial slur in a recent video and announced that he would be taking a break from social media.

British YouTuber, rapper, and boxer KSI, known for his controversial personality, has apologized after using a racial slur and decided to take a break from social media.

KSI is a co-founder and member of YouTube group the Sidemen. On Sunday, KSI and the Sidemen appeared in a video based on U.K. game show “Countdown” where the contestant chooses between two stacks of letter tiles, one containing vowels and the other consonants, and has 30 seconds to form the longest single word they can using nine letters.

KSI formed the word “Pi,” a pejorative term used to describe people of South Asian origin in the U.K., saying: “I don’t mean this maliciously, but the word’s Pi.” The offensive word was bleeped. KSI’s fellow Sidemen are evidently amused by the slur in the video.

The clip drew massive outrage on social media, including from leading arts practitioners hailing from the South Asian community. Actor, writer, and producer Guz Khan, BAFTA nominated for “A Man Like Mobeen,” posted a series of tweets, one of which said: “You see @KSI the issue you have here is that a lot of Pakistanis can make things very difficult for you and anyone giggling in this video. When they catch up with you, I hope the dead countdown joke was worth it…”

DJ Bobby Friction tweeted: “I had this racial slur thrown at me & got physical beats by racists for my entire childhood. Genuinely upset that @KSI (a guy my children love) did this & thought it was funny. The rest of them laughing can go f**k themselves too. People dehumanising brown people like it normal.”

The offensive video has since been removed from the Sidemen YouTube channel, and KSI has issued an apology.

“I wanna apologize for saying a racial slur in a recent Sidemen video. There’s no excuse, no matter the circumstances, I shouldn’t have said it and I’m sorry,” KSI tweeted. “I’ve always said to my audience that they shouldn’t worship me or put me on a pedestal because I’m human. I’m not perfect, I’m gonna mess up in life, and lately, I’ve been messing up a lot. So I’ve decided I’m gonna just take a break from social media for a while.”

KSI's Past Controversies

When it comes to drama, it’s fair to say Olajide Olayinka “KSI” Olatunji has been through it all. From multiple boxing matches with various online personalities to a feud with BTS’s army of fans, he’s certainly no stranger to controversy and confrontation.

Despite having a massive reach on social media and over 6 million followers on Twitter, the YouTuber announced on March 25 that he’d be leaving Twitter due to the prevalence of cancel culture on the platform. This is no doubt in part a response to the backlash he received after being accused of making transphobic jokes during a Jackbox stream.

He voiced his opinion that the platform as a whole has changed for the worse in recent years.

“Twitter used to be an amazing place where you could connect with people… now it’s just full of pretentious people that are ready to cancel & destroy your legacy for breathing incorrectly.”

Although the announcement came as a shock to a lot of KSI’s fans, his previous tweets did suggest he was growing tired of the platform. Just hours before his departure, he posted a tweet that labeled PewDiePie as “ahead of the curve” for leaving Twitter back in 2019.