The 2019 Shorty Awards went live on May 5, including such names as Ninja, Ariana Grande, and even Shane Dawson, whose acceptance speech ended up getting overturned in the best way possible.
Dawson won the Shorty Award for YouTuber of the Year, leading to an emotional speech from the longtime YouTuber who has skyrocketed to further fame thanks to his highly-acclaimed documentary series.
“Thank you guys for watching my stuff for so many years,” Dawson said of the award, shying away from the mic after allowing his fellow editor, Andrew, say a few words. “Thank you. Okay, that’s it.”
Kathy Griffin takes over Shane Dawson’s Shorty Awards speech
However, Dawson wasn’t let off the hook that easily; actress and comedian Kathy Griffin quickly forced him back to the podium, giving a touching rendition of Dawson’s speech that included his storied history on YouTube since the platform’s early years.
“I helped them literally build the channel,” Griffin said pointedly, humorously speaking from Dawson’s perspective. “…I want to thank you guys for helping me grow, because I did it myself.”
Kathy, thank you for being my hero, my mentor, and my friend. i can never express how much you mean to me and how much your words meant to me. i love u so much :,) :heart:️ pic.twitter.com/v6ksezwBlM
— Shane Dawson (@shanedawson) May 6, 2019
Dawon later spoke on Griffin’s impromptu speech via Twitter, claiming that he could “never express how much you mean to me and how much your words meant to me.”
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While Shane Dawson has been a major presence on YouTube since the platform’s inception, his massively popular documentary series took the website by storm in 2018, including such pieces over controversial YouTubers like Tana Mongeau and Jake Paul.
Shane Dawson’s YouTube controversies
However, Dawson’s career hasn’t been all sunshine and roses as of late; the YouTuber was involved in a series of scandals in early 2019, after internet sleuths discovered episodes of his old podcasts that contained controversial segments – which appeared to excuse pedophilia and even included a story about Dawson masturbating on his pet cat.
I found the audio!! Shane Dawson came on his cat! WTF!!!!! This was on his podcast pic.twitter.com/6slFQRxIeE
— Sandwich Ruler (@magician_dragon) March 17, 2019
Dawson later apologized for the episodes and claimed that he’d never actually ejaculated on his cat, stating that his past humor was meant to “shock” audiences with edgy jokes and over-the-top stories.
ive apologized many times for all the dumb shit ive said in videos and podcasts over the years. ive learned my lesson over and over again and im more confident now in my ability to be entertaining by just being myself and not being so shocking for laughs.(2/?)
— Shane Dawson (@shanedawson) March 18, 2019
Shane Dawson is one of YouTube’s most popular creators, boasting over 21 million subscribers on the platform as fans eagerly wait for the release of his next documentary series.