LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ninja and Ludwig Ahgren, two well-known Twitch and YouTube streamers, have spoken on the internet about the need for content creators to cater to their followers. A few weeks ago, veteran YouTuber, iDubbbz, openly apologized to his supporters for his previous work and stated that he was no longer associated with his troublesome and edgy fans.
Despite receiving a lot of positive feedback, the action ignited a contentious discussion on the extent to which streamers and other content producers should be held accountable for and by their audience.
‘You're not responsible’
Ludwig Ahgren, a well-known variety streamer, and YouTube celebrity, recently tweeted about the problem in response to Willy Mac Show who said, "You are not responsible for your audience unless you directly tell them to do something. They are their own people. If you have 100,000 viewers, statistically speaking one of them is going to be unhinged."
Ludwig to this responded by saying, "The argument that statistically 1/100,000 people will be unhinged so you bear no responsibility on the other 99,999 is incredibly weak."
Legendary Fortnite player and streamer Ninja added his two cents to the discussion and responded to Ludwig, offering another viewpoint on the same claim. Ninja said, "You aren’t responsible FOR them but YOU have a responsibility to be a good role model and leader, especially when you are talking about sensitive topics."
iDubbbz's recent apology
On his official YouTube account, Ian "iDubbbz" recently published a 17-minute video in which he expressed regret for his prior actions. Old fans' reactions to the video were divided. Many people admired iDubbbz's openness to consider his previous deeds and apologize for whatever hurt he may have caused. Others weren't as accepting and believed that iDubbbz was abandoning the material that made him famous.
Many fans reacted negatively to him after some of his statements regarding his older supporters being "edgy" and "red flags" caused a reaction.
IDubbbz's video was primarily intended to address and apologize for his prior use of racist and derogatory words. People like HasanAbi, who praised iDubbbz for acknowledging the consequences of his actions, praised the apology.
Having said that, iDubbbz has talked about streamers and online personalities and their responsibilities in defining their audience, which is why Ludwig and Ninja are talking about artists being accountable for their audience. People on both sides of the argument engaged in heated online debates on the topic.
