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Some YouTube creators have sparked outrage that shook the entire internet. Join us as we count down the most infamous videos that caused massive scandals and left viewers absolutely furious! From ill-conceived pranks to tone-deaf apologies, these uploads crossed lines that couldn't be uncrossed. Which video do you think caused the biggest controversy? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:00I gotta give them five stars for an outstanding experience because at least they did what I asked.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most infamous YouTube videos
00:09that caused a massive scandal that outraged viewers with their offensive content or context behind it.
00:14I've made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgment, and I don't expect to be forgiven.
00:20I'm simply here to apologize.
00:24Number 10, The Comeback, Ned Fulmer.
00:26One quarter of the original Try Guys, Fulmer marketed himself as the wife guy
00:30whose life revolved around his wife, Ariel, and their kids.
00:34What's really cool about this channel is that we're experimenting a lot.
00:36A lot of surprises that the audience is not going to expect.
00:39Over a million subscribers!
00:42Oh my god!
00:44Open it, yes, yes, you can open it.
00:46Yet in 2022, something weird began in the Try Guys realm as the channel's videos had Fulmer edited out.
00:52This led to the discovery that even having an affair with an employee, producer Alex Herring,
00:56which he admitted to.
00:57Due to the inappropriate relationship, Fulmer was removed from the Try Guys and even their videos.
01:02By now, we're assuming you've seen the Reddit threads and TikToks and tweets and news articles.
01:08In 2025, he returned to YouTube with his own podcast.
01:11Shortly before his first video with Ariel, the couple announced they'd separated.
01:15The interview was brutal for any remaining respect people had for Fulmer,
01:18with his overly rehearsed delivery and Ariel refusing to forgive.
01:21How can you forgive somebody for, like, for lying to you, for, for cheating on you?
01:29Number 9.
01:30Dear Fat People, Nicole Arbor
01:32To be a successful comedian, it's always the right move to punch up with your jokes.
01:36Ah, some people are already really mad at this video!
01:38Well, Arbor decided to do the opposite in 2015, when she released Dear Fat People.
01:44For six uncomfortable minutes, she ranted about obesity and claimed that fat shaming wasn't a thing.
01:49Unsurprisingly, viewers were furious.
01:51However, Arbor claimed she made the video controversial to draw in views,
01:54which doesn't improve her public image if true.
01:56I really hope this bomb of truth exploding into your face will act as shrapnel that seeps into your soul,
02:03makes you want to be healthier, so that we can enjoy you as human beings longer on this planet.
02:08She released a second part months later, in an attempt to capitalize on her infamy,
02:12as well as new targets such as refugee feminists, and more.
02:15Not only did she not bring in the subscribers she hoped for,
02:18but the backlash led to her being fired as a choreographer for a film.
02:21Did you expect to offend people? Are you surprised?
02:25Yeah! 100%! 100%!
02:26That video was made to offend people, just the way I do with all the other videos.
02:31It's just satire, I'm just being silly, I'm just having a bit of fun.
02:34Number 8. The Accidental Upload, Brooke Houts
02:37Animals in YouTube videos are usually a recipe for success.
02:41What's up everyone, it's your girl Brooke here today.
02:43For this video, I wanted to prank my dog.
02:46Yet if humans mistreat them then, like Houts, that's how they tank their online career.
02:50In 2019, the Lifestyle Vlogger's channel uploaded an unedited video
02:54showing Houts shouting at, hitting, and spitting at her dog, Sphinx.
02:58While it was quickly removed, it was too late as the video was re-uploaded by others,
03:02drawing major criticism and sparking viewers to contact the police.
03:06The LAPD is confirming to Eyewitness News this morning
03:09that the department is investigating a well-known YouTuber for animal abuse.
03:13Despite denying she was abusing Sphinx, Houts was rapidly losing YouTube subscribers
03:17and had to deactivate her Instagram account.
03:19Houts later stated that she re-homed Sphinx, claiming he attacked other dogs
03:23and had behavioral issues.
03:24However, her channel never recovered, eventually being deleted in 2023.
03:35Number 7. Stunt Gone Wrong, David Dobrik
03:38In 2021, Jeff Wittek released a video series about what happened to him the year prior
03:43when he took part in a stunt for Dobrik's vlog squad.
03:45I just jumped out of a plane 20 times.
03:48What's the worst that could happen if...
03:50While at a Utah lake, Wittek held onto a rope that was tied to an excavator that Dobrik was controlling.
03:55However, rather than being launched safely into the water,
03:57Dobrik's movement caused him to slam into the vehicle.
03:59I felt stupid that I even got myself in that situation
04:03and that I even allowed somebody to have control of my life.
04:07Wittek suffered terrible injuries, including a fractured skull, a broken foot, and a fractured eye socket.
04:12He had to pay for treatment out of pocket, including $90,000 for eye surgery.
04:17So, he sued his former friend for $10 million in damages.
04:20In response, Dobrik claimed Wittek was responsible for the stunt going wrong
04:24and that he understood the risks.
04:25We went through a lot of emotional stress, physical stress to f***ing get this shit done for you
04:31and then the second you get my life in your hands, you blew everything.
04:37It's a miracle I'm still sitting here.
04:39Number 6. The Ukulele Apology.
04:41Colleen Ballinger.
04:42After crossing into the mainstream with her Miranda Sings character,
04:45even getting a Netflix show, Ballinger's career came to a screeching halt in 2023.
04:50Recently, some things have come up that I feel like I need to address
04:52and so I just wanted to sit down and have an honest conversation with you
04:56and address everything at once.
04:58Following years of allegations, that year,
05:00she was accused of additional inappropriate interactions with young fans
05:03and sending inappropriate images.
05:05Yet, what caused Ballinger's downfall was her so-called apology video, titled Hi.
05:10My team has strongly advised me to not say what I want to say.
05:14I recently realized that they never said that I couldn't sing what I want to say.
05:19With the aid of a ukulele, she sang and spoke about the allegations
05:22going on about the toxic gossip train and denying what she was accused of.
05:26It was bizarre and only drew more eyes to the scandal,
05:29causing further allegations of racism in Ballinger's previous content.
05:33Due to the backlash, Ballinger rebranded herself as a family vlogger,
05:36bringing in a fraction of the views she once enjoyed.
05:38And I got a couple outfits for the twins for Valentine's Day.
05:42Maisie is very into fairies these days,
05:44and this red dress has hearts on it, but it also has little fairy wings,
05:47so she hasn't seen this yet, but I think she's going to want to wear that.
05:50Number 5. YouTube Rewind 2018.
05:52YouTube.
05:53Before YouTube made dislikes private,
05:55there was one video atop the dishonorable table of most disliked videos of all time.
05:59Yeah! It's rewind time!
06:02And it was its own.
06:03YouTube Rewind 2018.
06:05Everyone controls Rewind.
06:07Having found some success with releasing annual videos summing up a year of YouTube and pop culture,
06:112018's edition was universally despised,
06:14with over 20 million dislikes,
06:16nearly 6 million more than the second place.
06:18Apparently, we control Rewind this year.
06:22Y'all, we can do whatever we want.
06:25Viewers found the content cringey,
06:27the trends outdated,
06:28and were angered that some prominent influencers were missing.
06:31Unluckily for Will Smith,
06:32who introduced the video,
06:33he essentially became the face of one of the most hated videos ever.
06:37YouTube's then-CEO,
06:38Susan Wojcicki,
06:39admitted that even her children loathed it.
06:41After releasing one more rewind to 2019,
06:44YouTube retired the format.
06:45YouTube Rewind 2018.
06:48The most disliked video in the history of YouTube.
06:51Number 4.
06:52Killing Best Friend Practical Joke.
06:54Sam Pepper.
06:55It's difficult to be a practical joker on YouTube.
06:57After all,
06:58it's a bloated genre where a lot has been done already.
07:01Today, I'm filming a crazy prank.
07:02I met these two Viners a couple of weeks ago,
07:05and I've arranged to meet them to talk about filming a video with them.
07:08And when they take a thoughtless gamble,
07:10it can go really, really wrong.
07:12Like with Pepper.
07:12In 2015,
07:13he released a video that had him kidnap Sam Goldbach and Colby Brock.
07:17In front of Goldbach,
07:18Pepper pretends to take Brock's life,
07:20seemingly giving him immense trauma.
07:21That was crazy.
07:23Props to you guys.
07:24That was actually insane.
07:26As a result,
07:26viewers were infuriated by the callous joke,
07:29causing thousands of people to sign petitions
07:31to have Pepper banned from YouTube.
07:32This forced him to rebrand as a travel vlogger.
07:35At the time of the 2015 video,
07:37we believed only Brock and Pepper were in it.
07:39However,
07:39we later discovered that Goldbach knew what was happening.
07:42There's some of our good friends
07:44that don't even believe
07:45that they're like,
07:47no,
07:47you can't lie to me.
07:48Like, that wasn't acting.
07:49You actually got traumatized.
07:50Number three,
07:52the anti-Semitic Fiverr video,
07:53PewDiePie.
07:54For years,
07:55PewDiePie was the monarch of YouTube
07:57as the platform's most subscribed channel.
07:59Yet when 2017 rolled around,
08:00the trajectory of his career
08:02was forever altered negatively.
08:03There's a website called Fiverr
08:05where you basically can ask anyone
08:08for anything.
08:09PewDiePie released the video titled,
08:11I've discovered the greatest thing online,
08:13where he paid workers on the freelance site Fiverr
08:15to hold up an anti-Semitic sign.
08:17I am sorry.
08:18I didn't think they would actually do it.
08:19The outrage from viewers
08:21spread into the mainstream media,
08:22especially when similar controversial comments
08:24by PewDiePie were rediscovered.
08:26In response to the scandal,
08:27while he admitted the joke went too far,
08:29PewDiePie also blamed the media
08:30for taking it out of context.
08:32Regardless,
08:33Disney dropped him from its maker studios,
08:35Google removed him from its preferred program,
08:37and his YouTube Red series was canceled.
08:39What an experience.
08:40Wow.
08:41I didn't expect that.
08:42Number two,
08:43taking it too far,
08:44DaddyO5.
08:45Debuting his DaddyO5 channel in 2015,
08:48Michael Martin balanced his content of family vlogging
08:50with practical jokes.
08:52What's up, Team D-O5?
08:56Okay, so,
08:57the kids just got back home.
08:58I didn't record this morning,
09:00but I'm recording now,
09:01and the kids just got home.
09:02Yet as time went on,
09:03those jokes became more extreme,
09:05especially when they involved his children.
09:07He even encouraged some of the kids
09:08to distress the others for content.
09:10The psychological and physical torment,
09:12clearly documented,
09:13led the authorities to criminally charge Michael
09:15and his wife, Heather.
09:16In 2017,
09:17the couple agreed to Alford pleas,
09:19earning them five years of probation.
09:21The family is now in counseling,
09:22but the children say they miss making the videos.
09:25We'd be like,
09:25Dad, when are we making the next video?
09:27You know,
09:28when are we gonna make the next video?
09:29It was just,
09:30something that I really look forward to.
09:32Some of the children were placed in the care
09:33of their biological mother.
09:35Following DaddyO5's termination on YouTube,
09:37Michael attempted to skirt the ban with new channels,
09:39such as FamilyO5,
09:40only for them to also be banned.
09:42But that hasn't stopped them
09:43from staying in the business
09:44of producing online prank videos for YouTube
09:47with the three kids
09:48that they still have custody of.
09:50Before we continue,
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10:06Number one,
10:07the Okigahara video,
10:08Logan Paul.
10:09On the last day of 2017,
10:11Paul released a video
10:12that will forever be tied to his career
10:14for all the wrong reasons.
10:16It doesn't make any sense.
10:19And I believe it happened for a reason.
10:21And I think that reason is
10:23so I could take this experience,
10:26learn from it,
10:28spread the message the right way.
10:30As part of a trip to Japan,
10:31the video had him interacting
10:32with a deceased person
10:34who'd been found in Okigahara Forest.
10:36While the person's face was censored,
10:37the content,
10:38and Paul's insensitive reaction
10:40to the incident,
10:40such as having the ghoulish approach
10:42to film,
10:43led to incensed outrage
10:44from viewers,
10:45celebrities,
10:46and politicians.
10:47I've made a severe
10:48and continuous lapse
10:50in my judgment,
10:51and I don't expect to be forgiven.
10:53I'm simply here to apologize.
10:55Hundreds of thousands of people
10:57signed petitions
10:58to have his YouTube channel deleted.
10:59Paul had several projects
11:00put on hold
11:01or outright canceled.
11:02Planeless Pictures
11:03even issued a lawsuit
11:04against Paul
11:05for damaging the income
11:06from the 2019 film
11:07Airplane Mode,
11:08which was settled in 2024.
11:10I think we got off
11:11on the wrong foot.
11:11What other YouTube video
11:12that caused massive offense
11:14did we miss from our list?
11:15Let us know below.
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