YouTube star Shane Dawson has once again apologized for wearing blackface and using racial slurs, including the N-word, in his online video comedy sketches, saying he deserves to ‘lose everything’ as a result.
Dawson, who was born Shane Lee Yaw, has maintained a presence on the video-sharing platform since 2008.
He posted a clip on Friday titled ‘Taking Accountability.’
Although he has apologized in the past for posting offensive content, Dawson said he only recently came to the realization that he erred.
‘I have done a lot of things in my past that I hate, that I wish I could make go away, that I tried to make go away by deleting videos, or un-tagging my Instagram, literally doing whatever I can to pretend those things didn’t happen,’ he said.
‘Because yes, I apologized for a lot of them but I’m 31, almost 32. Those apologies suck.
Shane Dawson, 31, a YouTube star with some 23 million subscribers, posted a video on Friday titled ‘Taking Accountability’
Dawson expressed regret for using blackface and mocking African Americans in his comedy sketches
He also said he contributed to the ‘normalization’ of the N-word by frequently using it in his skits
‘I don’t know who that person is anymore.’
He added: ‘This video is coming from a place of just wanting to own up to my s***, wanting to own up to everything I’ve done on the internet that has hurt people, that has added to the problem, that has not been handled well.
‘I should have been punished for things.’
Dawson, who is worth an estimated $12million, said that he regrets ‘all the racism that [he] put onto the internet,’ which includes satirical depictions of African Americans, Asians, and Mexicans.
‘Blackface was something that I did a lot,’ he said.
‘There’s no excuse for it. I didn’t do the work. I didn’t look into the history of it and why it’s so wrong, and why people were so upset.
‘I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be Black, and see this white f****** guy do blackface, and the whole internet at that time being like, “LOL!” That’s insane and I am so sorry.’
‘I should lose everything for that,’ he remarked.
When talking about his use of the N-word, Dawson said his sketches promoted the ‘normalization’ of the epithet.
‘Me, as a white person, wearing a wig, playing a character, doing stereotypes and then saying the N-word is something that I should have probably lost my career for at the time,’ he said.
‘There’s no amount of apologizing that can take it away.’
Dawson said he is ‘willing to lose everything’ due to his actions.
‘At this point realizing how many people I’ve hurt, or how many people I’ve inspired to say awful things or do anything awful, to finally just own up to all of this and be accountable is worth losing everything to me,’ he said.
Dawson also apologized to James Charles, a YouTube star with some 14 million subscribers.
Last week, Dawson called Charles ‘egocentric’ and ‘power hungry’ on Twitter.
Charles was embroiled in a feud last year with Tati Westbrook.
The two traded barbs on YouTube videos after Westbrook accused Charles of ‘seducing straight men’ that he was interested in.
Dawson also apologized for calling out YouTube star, James Charles (right), who was involved in an online feud with fellow internet personality Tati Westbrook (left). Westbrook last year released a tell-all video attacking Charles for his behavior towards herself and other males
Dawson also apologized for his friendship with Jeffree Star, a controversial YouTube personality who was criticized last year for a website in which she referred to others as ‘Nazi’
Charles has denied the accusation, calling it ‘disgusting.’
In the video he posted on Friday, Dawson said: ‘The part of the Twitter note that I regret more than anything in my entire life, was the part where I said that James deserves a slice of humble pie the size of the Empire State Building.’
He added: ‘I’m sorry, James.
‘First of all, nobody deserves what happened. The whole internet ganging up on somebody, nobody deserved that.
‘Who am I that somebody needs to be humbled? Me? Who am I to say that?
‘I have literally put so much hate onto the internet over my last 15 years.’
Dawson also spoke about his friendship with Jeffree Star, another YouTube personality with a massive following.
Last year, an old website created by Star resurfaced in which he is seen slashing his wrists and referring to others as ‘Lipstick Nazi.’
In referring to his relationship with Star, Dawson said: ‘I’m aware that I hold my friends or people I care about to a lower standard than I hold other people.
‘That’s wrong and I’m so sorry.
‘I’m aware that I’m friends with some people that have done some bad things on the internet and I don’t condone it and I don’t co-sign it.’
Dawson said he’s not seeking forgiveness though he pledged to do better with his ‘actions.’
‘It’s okay to be upset at your past self for making mistakes, but also it’s okay if people don’t want to accept your apology and don’t want to support your anymore,’ he said.
‘That’s okay, too, and I understand.’
Earlier this week, another YouTube star, Jenna Marbles, said she was quitting her channel and apologized to her 20 million followers for past videos in which she is seen mocking black rapper Nicki Minaj and spoofing Asians.
In an 11-minute clip titled ‘A Message,’ the Rochester, New York native, 33, acknowledged her past transgressions, which included a 2011 blackface skit, shaming women and a racist rap.
‘For now I just can’t exist on this channel,’ she said. ‘I want to hold myself accountable, and it’s painful to do it. I’m ashamed of things I’ve done and said in my past – but, it’s important.
The latest: Jenna Marbles, 33, says she will no longer post to her YouTube channel amid scrutiny of older videos she did that contained racist content including a blackface skit
‘I think I’m just going to move on from this channel for now. I don’t know if that’s forever. I don’t know how long it’s going to be… I’m just going to stop for now.’
Marbles said it was time to take a step back from the channel, which has more than 20 million subscribers, amid a pileup of questions about the routines.
She specifically addressed the blackface skit, a video featuring a rap which made a joke about Asian people, and another in which she hit out at women who ‘slept around’.
The rap song included the line: ‘Hey Ching Chong Wing Wong, shake your King Kong ding dong.’
She described the video as ‘awful’ and ‘inexcusable’.
In the blackface video she dons a pink wig and skintight blue outfit and jokes that Minaj has different personalities. At one point in the video she is seen with dark paint or a face mask on her face while talking about ‘kinky’ sex.
‘I get it,’ she said. ‘I’ve definitely done things in the past that weren’t great. I’m not completely unproblematic. I’ve tried my best to grow up.’
Marbles, whose real name is Jenna Nicole Mourey, admits she’s gradually switched the older clips to private amid ‘a time where we are purging ourselves of anything and everything toxic’.
In an 11-minute clip titled ‘A Message,’ the Rochester, New York native, 33, acknowledged her past transgressions, which included a 2011 blackface skit (pictured), shaming women and a racist rap
Marbles is seen wearing a shiny skin-tight outfit and a pink wig during her Nicki Minaj impersonation
‘Yeah there [are] things in my past I’m not proud of and I’m getting a lot of tweets from people saying, “Why have you privated all these old videos?” and I have spent a lot of the last few days privating almost all of my old content.
‘I’m sorry if any of that holds any nostalgia for you but I’m literally not trying to put out negative things into the world.’
Marbles said she was ‘unbelievably sorry’ specifically in regards to the blackface skit, and wishes ‘it wasn’t part of [her] past.’
She added of the bit: ‘I do just want to tell you that it was not my intention to do blackface.
‘I don’t know how else to say this but it doesn’t matter because all that matters is that people were offended and it hurt them… this isn’t okay and it hasn’t existed on the Internet for a long time because it’s not okay.’