YouTuber Jenna Marbles has announced she’s taking a sabbatical from the platform, after apologising for a string of racist and offensive videos she uploaded between 2011 and 2012.
“It seems like maybe some other people aren’t having a good time, so for now I can’t exist on this channel,” she said.
Marbles, real name Jenna Mourey, responded to recent discussions about a 2011 video in which she impersonated Nicki Minaj while wearing blackface.
“I do just want to tell you it was not my intention to do blackface,” she said of the dark makeup she wore in the clip.
“It doesn’t matter,” she added.
“All that matters is that people were offended, and it hurt them. For that, I am so unbelievably sorry.”
The YouTuber pointed out another video which featured an offensive impersonation and language that was derogatory to Asian people.
“It’s awful, it doesn’t need to exist,” she said.
“It’s inexcusable, it’s not okay. I’m incredibly sorry.”
Marbles said the videos were marked as private some time ago, along with other clips which featured “slut-shamey” language and jokes about gender identity.
“I’m not sure that I want to continue doing stuff on this channel,” she said.
“And I don’t want to put anything out in the world that’s going to hurt anybody, so I need to be done with the channel for now, or for forever, I don’t know.”
The video comes amid a broader reckoning in the media and entertainment industry about how White people portray people of colour.
Marbles, who kicked off her channel in 2010, has amassed more than 20 million subscribers. Her videos have been viewed more than 3 billion times in total.
You can watch her video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz3mQhuMACs
