YouTuber Shane Dawson has insisted he’s “willing to lose everything” as he addressed his past controversies in a lengthy video posted last night.
In the 20-minute video, which was titled ‘Taking Accountability’, the 31-year-old responded to renewed criticism he’s faced on social media over the past few weeks.
Shane addressed his use of blackface in the past, and other offensive comments he’s made since he joined the platform over ten years ago.
Although Shane has released multiple apologies in the past over controversial videos he’s posted or comments he’s made, the YouTube star doesn’t believe he did enough do deserve any redemption.
He said: “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.”
“Because yes, I apologized for a lot of them but I’m 31, almost 32. Those apologies suck. I don’t know who that person is anymore.”
Shane explained: “This video is coming from a place of just wanting to own up to my s**t, 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.”
Addressing his use of blackface, he said: “Blackface was something that I did a lot. 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**king 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 said.
Shane also apologised for using the N-word in past YouTube videos, and said he “should have probably lost” his career for that at the time.
He said: “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.”
At the end of his video, Shane vowed to do better, and said he understands if people don’t want to accept his apologies.
He said: “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. That’s okay, too, and I understand.”
Shane released a video addressing his past actions after fellow YouTube star Jenna Marbles quit the platform earlier this week.
In an emotional YouTube video, the 33-year-old apologised for posting offensive videos in the past, and said she would no longer be posting on her channel – which has over 20 million subscribers.
