PewDiePie Apologizes After Appearing to Mock a Deaf TikToker

PewDiePie‘s latest YouTube video has stirred up some controversy. 

On July 26, the Youtuber, who has 111 million subscribers, shared a video titled “My Dog Cringes at TikToks,” in which he reacts to viral videos with his pup, Maya.

One of those clips included creator Scarlet May, who is deaf and regularly posts TikToks using both sign language and spoken English to communicate. She often sports long nails as she signs to her 6.2 million followers. 

When PewDiePie saw a video of hers, he cut the clip short. “I’m not listening to this,” he said in the YouTube video. “Look, she has your crazy nails, Maya!” 

He then waved both of the dog’s paws around, appearing to imitate American Sign Language. PewDiePie added, “Sorry, are my nails distracting you guys?”

The video garnered backlash from viewers, including one person who tweeted, “Pewdiepie isnt ableist, he just wanted to mock a Black woman for millions of viewers for having long fingernails and speaking in her natural dialect! Its ONLY racism.”