YouTuber PewDiePie has slammed Lilly Singh over her comments about the social network’s wage gap, calling her a “crybaby and an idiot.”
The controversy began when Forbes released its list of 2018’s highest-paid YouTube stars and Singh pointed out that there were no women on the list.
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“2 years ago it was almost even between male & female, last year it was just me and this year there are no females at all. Something I predicted in my instagram caption last year. I’m concerned the digital space is going to repeat the mistakes of ancient industries. Hope I’m wrong,” she tweeted on Dec. 4.
2 years ago it was almost even between male & female, last year it was just me and this year there are no females at all. Something I predicted in my instagram caption last year. I’m concerned the digital space is going to repeat the mistakes of ancient industries. Hope I’m wrong //t.co/VmoTMjywGK
— Lilly Singh (@IISuperwomanII) December 5, 2018
Following her comments, many people criticized her for insinuating the company was pushing women out, prompting her to make another statement.
“I tweeted about seeing no women on the YouTubers Forbes list and as a result I received some angry tweets from men,” Singh wrote. “Remind me why YOU are mad again? Im not playing a ‘gender card’ I am literally stating facts about results in an article. Let’s do better. I’m not your enemy.”
I tweeted about seeing no women on the YouTubers Forbes list and as a result I received some angry tweets from men. Remind me why YOU are mad again?
Im not playing a “gender card” I am literally stating facts about results in an article.
Let’s do better. I’m not your enemy x
— Lilly Singh (@IISuperwomanII) December 7, 2018
Now, her fellow YouTuber PewDiePie — real name Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg — has released a video in which he bashes Singh for her stance on the wage gap.
“You know, maybe this is a crazy idea, but maybe you should plan a campaign or something like that to increase your revenue,” he said in the clip, then going on to mock her for taking time off in the past to focus on her mental health. “Something about mental health and then just come back and sell a bunch of merch afterwards. That would be a great idea. Maybe that would help you earn more revenue.”
He then went on to share his own thoughts on the situation, saying, “I think what’s interesting about this whole thing is it’s saying that men are being paid more than women, in the YouTube space, which is obviously just ridiculous.”
“You don’t get paid more or less based on your gender. AdSense pays the same way. If people want to subscribe to you, they generally do it because they enjoy your videos, not because of your gender,” he continued. “That’s just ridiculous. But if you start complaining about this, you literally just sound like a crybaby and an idiot, which you are Lilly Singh, just in case you weren’t sure.”
Singh has since clarified in a series of tweets that she is “not attacking the men on the list” or “Forbes or YouTube.”
“I am simply pointing out a concerning cultural pattern/trend that I see within the industry. And as woman and honestly, just as a human being, I feel it’s important to be concerned about patterns like this,” she added.
She has also reached out to PewDiePie in the hopes that the two can have a dialogue about the matter.
