YouTube Star Shane Dawson Makes Controversial Return to Platform After Past Scandal

YouTube star Shane Dawson has returned to the YouTube community following his year-long hiatus due to a controversial black face scandal. Dawson announced his return in a new video that will be part of a series he's launching with his partner, Ryland Adams, called The Haunting of Shane Dawson. The new series will focus on the two as they embark on various ghost hunting adventures in their new Colorado home.

Dawson acknowledged the incident in the first video saying that he initially "wanted to leave the internet and I didn't want to be part" of the online community. "I felt like it ruined my life," Dawson shared.

He went on to share that he thinks being canceled actually did him well, declaring that the time spent unplugged allowed him to do more personal development. "I think part of me was upset because I was like, I made so much growth and now I'm being canceled over things from the past and that's not me anymore," he recalled. He said he "can't focus on what other people think of me."

"I learned a lot, and I feel like I'm so happy it happened," he said. "I'm so grateful that I got canceled, because it really changed my life. It showed me what I care about and showed me what matters; it showed me I don't need to be on YouTube all the time," he explained. "I don't need to be stressed about what's next, I don't need to be trying to think of the next idea, the next whatever to be happy."

He continued, adding that his entire time making videos shouldn't be diminished to solely his wrongs. "Yeah, there was bad stuff in those videos, but like the good stuff connected with people and I can't just throw that away, that's weird. I'm not going to run from my past, but I'm also not going to stay in it," he said. "I feel like it would be unhealthy for me to just constantly think about it."

He added: "I don't want to be looked at as somebody who gave up and left and ran away from the internet because they were afraid of whatever. No, I left because I felt like I should, and I left because I needed time, and I left because I wanted to figure out what the hell I was doing with my life and what I wanted to do and why I got to a place where I didn't want to be alive anymore."