Popular YouTube star Shane Dawson returned to the platform after a 16-month hiatus. His hiatus follows his cancellation amidst several videos of his offensive behavior being resurfaced online.
Dawson’s first video since his return is part of a three-part video series titled “The Haunting of Shane Dawson,” where he reflects on his past behaviors and mistakes in his early content as well as push forward to create new content. His return back to YouTube has caused mixed reactions on social media, reviving the conversation of “cancel culture.”
Dawson has been involved in several controversies over the years, including his portrayal of racial stereotypes (portraying blackface and saying the N-word) and making pedophiliac jokes.
The controversial statements included one he made about musical artist Willow Smith, where he made provocative sexual gestures toward a picture of her. At the time this video was made, Smith was only 11-years-old. Dawson received backlash from the Smith family when the video resurfaced back in June 2020. This wasn’t the first joke to be resurfaced, but it was one of the most impactful on his career.
He had addressed his controversies back in June 2020 in a video titled “Taking Accountability.” In this video, Dawson apologized for his wrongdoings, but remarks that his apologies do not take away the impact of his actions.
During this time, YouTube actually demonetized his account to help him take accountability on his actions. Dawson proceeded to delete several of his older videos, making him lose 1.2 billion views on his channel. He then announced his temporary leave from YouTube.
His pedophiliac and racist jokes were consistent, showing up all over his videos in his early content. Some have excused the humor, saying that it was for “shock value.” As a counter-argument, users believe that since they were so consistent, there may have been some truth in his jokes.
Although “cancel culture” was not relevant back in that era of YouTube, many argue that he should have been canceled then rather than now. Dawson even agrees in his apology video back in June 2020, recalling that “as a white person, wearing a wig, playing a character, doing stereotypes and then saying the N-word is something I probably should have lost my career for, at the time.”
Since his cancellation, Dawson moved to Colorado with his fiance, in hopes to start making more content including horror films. In his newest video, he further reflects on his past behavior and his cancellation. He looks back on his offensive content, saying that he is embarrassed and ashamed of his old videos.
He also said that he even reflected on his past behavior before he was canceled, claiming that he feels very disconnected from the person he was in his 20’s, but he can’t deny he was once that person.
Some online users don’t believe that he regrets his past behaviors, remarking that his apology for these jokes was long overdue and he was only doing it now because the videos had resurfaced and were becoming viral.
There were several mixed reactions amidst Dawson’s return. Those who have been longtime fans were there to wish him a warm welcome back to YouTube, while others who used to be fans or started to dislike him, were disappointed with his return. Most of his fans have excused his past behavior, asserting that he has grown so much.
On the other hand, several users on social media that disagree with his return are arguing that his jokes were inexcusable and his behavior has not changed. While the YouTuber has received mixed reactions on his video, the like-to-dislike ratio on the video was overwhelmingly positive and he garnered over a million views in 24 hours.
Dawson was actually grateful for his cancellation saying that it changed his life, affirming “it made me realize that I can’t focus on what other people think of me.” He also acknowledges the fact that he is always going to have people against him, stating “I just feel like people are going to hate me no matter what and I just have to accept that.”
It is applicable that he did lose a large amount of fans after his cancellation, which affects his future likeness. Even though he still has many fans, his views will probably never get up to where they were in the peak of his career.
His cancellation will always have an effect on his viewership and likability, due to the loads of online users who remember the controversial jokes he’s made and deny him forgiveness. He will continue to endure criticism and hatred for his offensive actions, forever hindering his career no matter how hard he tries. But despite all the controversy, Dawson has returned to YouTube, and this time he is here to stay.
