Jenna Marbles is ending her YouTube channel after old problematic videos resurface.

[Reizzz]

I'm not sure who here, if any, watches her channel ( my partner and I do) but her latest video is her addressing old content that had already been privated and apologized for a few years ago but had come to light again.

One video of black face and another video of a bad Asian joke during a song she made.



So where do you all stand on this, like she obviously should apologize and own up to it but also has done a complete 180 in the last 8 years since.
Meanwhile pewdiepie and Jake Paul still thrive by apologising but not actually being sorry..YouTube is a sespool.

 

[NSA]

Nothing positive can grow until we get rid of everything negative that came in the past, good step in that direction.

 

[Gunztrix]

I not sure how most people feel. But, I'm willing to forgive people if they actually learn and change. Its also important to note the internet is not know for being forgiving.

I can't speak from a minority perspective though.

 

[ProfessorLobo]

Nothing positive can grow until we get rid of everything negative that came in the past, good step in that direction.

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I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not.

 

[Stronginthearm]

I'll miss her. I love her videos, especially about the dogs.

 

[m_shortpants]

People do stupid things. As long as they sincerely apologize and make an effort to educate others with their platform as to why it was wrong I don't see a need for her to disappear entirely. Provided that her ongoing history shows a change in behavior and thought.

 

[EJS]

If she doesn't want to make videos for the time being, that's ok. However, if she thinks the right thing for her to do is take a break, then I disagree. I think owning up to what you did in the past and making sure to start setting a positive example and continuing to do so is more productive.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

I think people can change, people's views can change, their positions on issues can change.

Apology has to be sincere and they can always put in the work to make a difference.

 

[Doc Kelso]

Conflicted.

On one hand, taking responsibility and holding yourself accountable is absolutely the bare minimum that a cis white person can do these days. On the other hand, I feel like more good can be done by using her status and audience to push diversity and instill in others the idea of personal growth. It's an utter privilege to be able to self-flagellate to such a degree that you're able to throw everything away like that.

 

[HardTimesFamilyPride]

I can't speak for minorities of course, but the general sentiment I see boils down to "understand, apologize, do better". So if the effort is being made and the behavior is changed and she is standing up for what's right then I at least would feel compelled to support that continued growth if I were a fan.

 

[Alastor3]

why not just make an apologize and remove the problematic content? I thought her youtube channel was most of her career

 

[NSA]

I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not.

Click to shrink...

Not.

I think history has been pretty clear that if you do not go in and completely cut out the cancer, it continues to grow and fester, usually at the expense of minorities and POC. This movement is looking more and more like a once in a lifetime opportunity to cancel out all these people who've used hate to get where they are today, once and for all. Think about how many new views and opportunities this is opening up for minorities and POC, lets be real, most people getting comeuppance now for their past sins are white bastards.

 

[Hoa]

I'm assuming she hasn't done anything stupid since then if it was 8 years ago? Just get rid of the old videos, don't do it again, and help push against racism and racist ideas. Not much different than removing blackface episodes in generally good series like they've been doing recently.

 

[rjinaz]

Admit you were a piece of shit and work towards bettering society, calling out racism and bigotry. If being a shit person when we were younger permanently cancelled you, I wouldn't be here, nor would I imagine a shit ton of the most progressive people on ERA.

I'm not excusing anything. I just feel like more good can be done by acknowledging and then working hard to counter what you used to believe.

 

[Loudninja]

I am exhausted with this shit.

 

[Reizzz]

If she doesn't want to make videos for the time being, that's ok. However, if she thinks the right thing for her to do is take a break, then I disagree. I think owning up to what you did in the past and making sure to start setting a positive example and continuing to do so is more productive.

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I agree, but also I'm a white male who is not targeted in any way by her content. If a black person is super offended they have every right to be

Conflicted.

On one hand, taking responsibility and holding yourself accountable is absolutely the bare minimum that a cis white person can do these days. On the other hand, I feel like more good can be done by using her status and audience to push diversity and instill in others the idea of personal growth. It's an utter privilege to be able to self-flagellate to such a degree that you're able to throw everything away like that.

Click to shrink...

I agree 100% she has that privilege to like opt out of responsibility and that's not a good thing. There are people who can't do that.

I also think this was the straw that broke the camels back in a way. Over the last year I've just seen a change in her content like it was by the numbers, plus covid and the Trump-encouraged shit going on... it's a lot to deal with...

 

[maximumzero]

I'm so torn on these kinds of apologies.

On one hand, I get it, people make dumb mistakes, especially in their youth. When you live your life like she has with everything on the internet, you're bound to expose your worst traits along with your best ones.

On the other hand, no amount of apology undoes the fact that it existed in the first place. Nobody does blackface accidentally, you should have known it was bad then just as you know now.

The best thing you can do is apologize, try to absolve yourself, and move on.

 

[pizoxuat]

That's a shame. She apologized and got rid of much of that content years ago. Her videos have been light, good-hearted fun for a long time now. I felt like she had genuinely learned and grown. I hope she reconsiders.

 

[KoopaTheCasual]

I mean you can see her clear growth over the years since that point (kind of like Kimmel), and she also addressed it before (also like Kimmel), so I think it's a situation where continuing to be a great example of change is the better course of action.

This video is also very level-headed, where she talks about intent and sometimes that doesn't really matter.

I personally hope she comes back after a break, because she's definitely been an example of how someone with a problematic past can actually "grow" past it.

I am exhausted with this shit.

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Which aspect of it?

 

[Tawpgun]

Not.

I think history has been pretty clear that if you do not go in and completely cut out the cancer, it continues to grow and fester, usually at the expense of minorities and POC. This movement is looking more and more like a once in a lifetime opportunity to cancel out all these people who've used hate to get where they are today, once and for all. Think about how many new views and opportunities this is opening up for minorities and POC, lets be real, most people getting comeuppance now for their past sins are white bastards.

Click to shrink...

I mean I agree but there is a difference between cutting out the past and learning from it.

Confederate nonsense belongs in museums, not idolized via statues and names. But we don't need to never mention it again.

In this case, like a lot of people have said, its good to reflect on past decisions people or maybe even yourself might have made, apologize (especially if you are a public figure) and move forward.

At the end of the day Jenna is potentially ending a youtube career for something she already removed from her library and apologized for. Was she pressured into it? Maybe. But I'd rather have a bunch of people making positive videos that learned from their mistakes than telling them all to fuck off.

 

[Loudninja]

I mean you can see her clear growth over the years since that point (kind of like Kimmel), and she also addressed it before (also like Kimmel), so I think it's a situation where continuing to be a great example of change is the better course of action.

This video is also very level-headed, where she talks about intent and sometimes that doesn't really matter.

I personally hope she comes back after a break, because she's definitely been an example of how someone with a problematic past can actually "grow" past it.



Which aspect of it?

Click to shrink...

All of it it always the same song an dance I am just tired every single day it something.

 

[Doc Kelso]

I agree, but also I'm a white male who is not targeted in any way by her contrnt

I agree 100% she has that privilege to like opt out of responsibility and that's not a good thing. There are people who can't do that.

I also think this was the straw that broke the camels back in a way. Over the last year I've just seen a change in her content like it was by the numbers, plus covid and the Trump-encouraged shit going on... it's a lot to deal with...

Click to shrink...

I do agree that it felt like she was very much just putting videos up for the sake of it, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's just taking the opportunity to dip out entirely. Which admittedly puts a bad taste in my mouth.

I hope that even if she does break away from Youtube entirely she uses her audience to push minority content creators. She's got a massive following that hangs onto every weird word. The phrase isn't, "Apologize and vanish." It's "Apologize and do better." You aren't doing better by vanishing.

 

[Deleted member 19844]

why not just make an apologize and remove the problematic content? I thought her youtube channel was most of her career

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That content had been removed a long time ago and she seemingly has changed a lot in the last 8 years. The videos were brought up again.

 

[VPplaya]

Honestly? She just needs to take a break. At a certain point, the accusations, harassment, and shaming just go too far. Anyone who has watched her for any decent amount of time can clearly see that she has grown significantly over the past decade. Sure, take down any distasteful videos. But the ridiculous harassment she has gotten lately (like all that shit with the dogs) is completely unwarranted and unacceptable. Especially because I find it hard to believe her fanbase is the one stirring up this drama over nothing!

 

[Z-Beat]

Chocolate Rain is forever

 

[thevid]

I'm kind of annoyed that she keeps saying she didn't want to offend anyone, sorry if what she did offended anyone, etc. The problem isn't that she was offending people, it's that she was being racist.

 

[That1GoodHunter]

She is a textbook perfect example of someone who had a rough problematic start, but then grew to become a wonderful person completely and honestly at odds with her past self. It's horrific that women like her who have, honest to god, changed, have to face proper consequences, meanwhile motherfuckers like Shane Dawson, Jefree Star, and PewdiePie get to be shielded by their fucking hordes of fans after doing fuck shit as recent as a year back.

 

[bigsnack]

I am exhausted with this shit.

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It is the WORST. I feel like there is a team now solely dedicating themselves to rooting anyone and everyone out, requiring them to be own up / apologize and pay permanently for something that they may have said or done as long as 25 years ago. It's insane.

 

[Loudninja]

It is the WORST. I feel like there is a team now solely dedicating themselves to rooting anyone and everyone out, requiring them to be own up / apologize and pay permanently for something that they may have said or done as long as 25 years ago. It's insane.

Click to shrink...

That isnt what I am saying here at all sigh.

 

[TuneTuneGuy]

This one kinda sucks. She's at least from what I can tell from this side of the screen has changed from what she was when she was in her early 20s. I hope there's a way to recover in the public's mind from wrong doings but she already made her money and doesn't have to keep doing videos if she doesn't want to. In the video she stressed she doesn't wanna hurt anyone else so I can see her just retiring and doing rescue stuff with dogs.

 

[VPplaya]

Another concept some people seem to have trouble understanding (I'm talking more generally, not about anyone specific on ERA) is that some people actually are capable of changing. Sure, you need to be willing to give them a chance, but to still be called a racist after all these years of zero incidents of really anything? Give me a break.

 

[Reizzz]

I do agree that it felt like she was very much just putting videos up for the sake of it, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's just taking the opportunity to dip out entirely. Which admittedly puts a bad taste in my mouth.

I hope that even if she does break away from Youtube entirely she uses her audience to push minority content creators. She's got a massive following that hangs onto every weird word. The phrase isn't, "Apologize and vanish." It's "Apologize and do better." You aren't doing better by vanishing.

Click to shrink...

That would be a good idea, the thing is I've seen so many YouTube channels suddenly feature poc content creators for like a week or 2 then suddenly stop again. As if it was just done cause it was trendy.

 

[Deleted member 50374]

You know, the point of justice is not revenge, but correction. We shall bring down the current system and have social justice. It is pointless to throw shit at people for trying to correct themselves. While it is right to be angry, it will do no good to bring out the guillotine for everything.

 

[NinjaScooter]

I mean if she's choosing to go off line, either for a while or permanently, that's up to her. Not sure from that standpoint we can compare to other YouTubers or personalities.

On a tangent, I don't know why I thought of this now, maybe it's because this person is obviously wildly successful and I've legitimately never heard of them (and I don't mean that as a slight), but do we have too many fuckin "celebrities"? I have to admit that's been one of the takeaways from all of this because a lot of the people being named and exposed are people I've never heard of,(but nowhere near the most important one) is like goddamn there are a shit load of people from so many walks of life, either because they make funny videos on YouTube, or stream video games, or broadcast their lives on Instagram, who have these massive followings and massive platforms. This could very well be a "yelling at a cloud" thing but could this part of the problem? On one hand I want to say that we are giving so much power and platform to people who may not deserve it or be equipped to handle it...on the other hand has that ever been a good thing, even when celebrities were just singers and athletes and actors? I just don't know, this thought just sort of dawned on me.

 

[Faenix1]

People should be allowed to grow.

If you did or said something stupid, but have since owned up to, apologized, and turned yourself around. We should let what you said go, I'm not sure why people feel the need to dig up stuff from years ago that has already been addressed before. I don't see how it helps us go forward.

 

[Tbm24]

If she's grown since then that's fine. It's her decision to do this and you just have to respect it. She doesn't owe anyone more content if she doesn't want to.

 

[sprsk]

Having only starting watching her videos since a few years ago, I believe the person she is now is not that person that made those old videos.

Hold folks accountable, but don't make it a zero-sum game. It's hard to do that on the internet, I know, but we should all try to be better.

 

[bigsnack]

That isnt what I am saying here at all sigh.

Click to shrink...

Well them I'm exhausted for different reasons. There is no grey area anymore, people are either OK or they are evil. If it's ok to have a murky past as long as you own up to it and grow, then why even bring up the past and make these folks relive it over and over again? It seems like such a waste of time and energy on everyone's part.

 

[bigsnack]

People should be allowed to grow.

If you did or said something stupid, but have since owned up to, apologized, and turned yourself around. We should let what you said go, I'm not sure why people feel the need to dig up stuff from years ago that has already been addressed before. I don't see how it helps us go forward.

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This. I don't know if folks believe that rehashing it, even if you ultimately accept the person's apology, is not helpful.

 

[rjinaz]

I'm kind of annoyed that she keeps saying she didn't want to offend anyone, sorry if what she did offended anyone, etc. The problem isn't that she was offending people, it's that she was being racist.

Click to shrink...

agreed. If you really regret your past you own it. You say, yeah, I was shit. The. End.

 

[Mortemis]

I mean if she's choosing to go off line, either for a while or permanently, that's up to her. Not sure from that standpoint we can compare to other YouTubers or personalities.

On a tangent, I don't know why I thought of this now, maybe it's because this person is obviously wildly successful and I've legitimately never heard of them (and I don't mean that as a slight), but do we have too many fuckin "celebrities"? I have to admit that's been one of the takeaways from all of this because a lot of the people being named and exposed are people I've never heard of,(but nowhere near the most important one) is like goddamn there are a shit load of people from so many walks of life, either because they make funny videos on YouTube, or stream video games, or broadcast their lives on Instagram, who have these massive followings and massive platforms. This could very well be a "yelling at a cloud" thing but could this part of the problem? On one hand I want to say that we are giving so much power and platform to people who may not deserve it or be equipped to handle it...on the other hand has that ever been a good thing, even when celebrities were just singers and athletes and actors? I just don't know, this thought just sort of dawned on me.

Click to shrink...

I've been thinking that. We have a whole new generation of people who are famous but without a lot of resources famous celebrities would have (like a PR team, agent, etc).

And with more people in the limelight, we have higher odds of shitty people becoming famous. Not that I'm saying Jenna Marbles is one, I really don't know her, only of her.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

Seems a good person to me that always took accountability for anything bad she did.

I can't say I followed her from the beginning but there are a lot of complete scumbags online and I don't think she's one of them.

Seems like she has a good heart and unlike most others, she in all likelihood genuinely feels remorse for what she did in the past.

 

[Reizzz]

I mean if she's choosing to go off line, either for a while or permanently, that's up to her. Not sure from that standpoint we can compare to other YouTubers or personalities.

On a tangent, I don't know why I thought of this now, maybe it's because this person is obviously wildly successful and I've legitimately never heard of them (and I don't mean that as a slight), but do we have too many fuckin "celebrities"? I have to admit that's been one of the takeaways from all of this because a lot of the people being named and exposed are people I've never heard of,(but nowhere near the most important one) is like goddamn there are a shit load of people from so many walks of life, either because they make funny videos on YouTube, or stream video games, or broadcast their lives on Instagram, who have these massive followings and massive platforms. This could very well be a "yelling at a cloud" thing but could this part of the problem? On one hand I want to say that we are giving so much power and platform to people who may not deserve it or be equipped to handle it...on the other hand has that ever been a good thing, even when celebrities were just singers and athletes and actors? I just don't know, this thought just sort of dawned on me.

Click to shrink...

That's just a getting old thing lol. I can relate. My dad would say the same thing in the 80s about people becoming minor celebs off of funniest home videos or commercials/infomercials etc..

But Jenna has access to help. She promotes those same resources regularly too.

 

[Tawpgun]

I'm so torn on these kinds of apologies.

On one hand, I get it, people make dumb mistakes, especially in their youth. When you live your life like she has with everything on the internet, you're bound to expose your worst traits along with your best ones.

On the other hand, no amount of apology undoes the fact that it existed in the first place. Nobody does blackface accidentally, you should have known it was bad then just as you know now.

The best thing you can do is apologize, try to absolve yourself, and move on.

Click to shrink...

Can I just make the point that this is not necessarily true. Yes you don't do blackface accidentally but not everyone who does it, especially back in the day, knows its bad. While I can't recall ever doing blackface I have done the whole "dress up like a gangsta" thing as a kid. I didn't know it was problematic. Cultures change, cultural morals change. The best thing you can say is you acknowledge that while you may have been ignorant you still apologize for it and say it was still wrong then.

 

[Deleted member 48828]

Cue fans blaming people for "making her quit."

 

[Tochtli79]

I remember her from early YouTube. She seems genuinely sorry and ashamed of what she did, and just the fact she made this video shows she's tried to be better and understand why it wasn't ok.

 

[NinjaScooter]

That's just a getting old thing lol. I can relate. My dad would say the same thing in the 80s about people becoming minor celebs off of funniest home videos or commercials/infomercials etc..

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I definitely think its some of that, but people back then who got famous off of like 15 minutes of fame didn't really have these kinds of followings. That's the difference. We still have these sort of one hit wonder celebs now, thats different from these streamers and social media celebrities that have millions of people following their every move. Again, I don't even know that it's a bad thing or just different, thats more where my conflict is coming from.

Even when I was a kid, I idolized a lot of athletes and actors and singers who were probably pieces of shit, and my parents and family always tried to reinforce to not look at celebrities as role models, but maybe it's just the level of exposure is different now? Like I loved Ken Griffey Jr but I didn't really know anything about him, I had no way of actually interacting with him, I didn't send him money or have to send him money every month to be a fan.

 

[Reizzz]

I definitely think its some of that, but people back then who got famous off of like 15 minutes of fame didn't really have these kinds of followings. That's the difference. We still have these sort of one hit wonder celebs now, thats different from these streamers and social media celebrities that have millions of people following their every move. Again, I don't even know that it's a bad thing or just different, thats more where my conflict is coming from.

Even when I was a kid, I idolized a lot of athletes and actors and singers who were probably pieces of shit, and my parents and family always tried to reinforce to not look at celebrities as role models, but maybe it's just the level of exposure is different now? Like I loved Ken Griffey Jr but I didn't really know anything about him, I had no way of actually interacting with him, I didn't send him money or have to send him money every month to be a fan.

Click to shrink...

Not to mention a lot of adults these days probably don't educate themselves on who their kids are watching on youtube, twitter, insta, tik tok etc...

 

[NSA]

Can I just make the point that this is not necessarily true. Yes you don't do blackface accidentally but not everyone who does it, especially back in the day, knows its bad. While I can't recall ever doing blackface I have done the whole "dress up like a gangsta" thing as a kid. I didn't know it was problematic. Cultures change, cultural morals change. The best thing you can say is you acknowledge that while you may have been ignorant you still apologize for it and say it was still wrong then.

Click to shrink...

This just feels like a copout for someone famous. Even if, somehow, they didn't know "it was problematic", if you're doing it on TV/youtube/etc, you're making a buck off (a) being a racist and (b) belittling people of color. If they don't remove themselves all together I think the bare minimum these racist celebrities and racist shows should do is forward all proceeds to endowments for poc. The success was built upon a racist base, and either you burn it all down, or you make sure it's contributing to raising up poc above the assholes who created it in the first place.

 

[Hoa]

I mean if she's choosing to go off line, either for a while or permanently, that's up to her. Not sure from that standpoint we can compare to other YouTubers or personalities.

On a tangent, I don't know why I thought of this now, maybe it's because this person is obviously wildly successful and I've legitimately never heard of them (and I don't mean that as a slight), but do we have too many fuckin "celebrities"? I have to admit that's been one of the takeaways from all of this because a lot of the people being named and exposed are people I've never heard of,(but nowhere near the most important one) is like goddamn there are a shit load of people from so many walks of life, either because they make funny videos on YouTube, or stream video games, or broadcast their lives on Instagram, who have these massive followings and massive platforms. This could very well be a "yelling at a cloud" thing but could this part of the problem? On one hand I want to say that we are giving so much power and platform to people who may not deserve it or be equipped to handle it...on the other hand has that ever been a good thing, even when celebrities were just singers and athletes and actors? I just don't know, this thought just sort of dawned on me.

Click to shrink...

I think that is just a natural result of the internet being as prominent as it is in our lives now. Just extremely easy now to connect with a sizable amount of people around the world and have sort of a following if you have similar interests and produce content for that. You'd need a company backing you up to do that when we were growing up. Even in the early internet days it'd be harder to build the followings you can now.

Shit one good tweet/tiktok/whatever nowadays can have thousands of eyes in your direction.