Top YouTuber Felix ‘PewDiePie’ Kjellberg has finally responded to the removal of his Cocomelon diss track by YouTube, saying he is “really disappointed” by the decision.
PewDiePie’s highly anticipated diss track, aimed at kids YouTube channel Cocomelon, was released on February 14, and instantly went viral after it included a surprise challenge to rapper 6ix9ine.
The four-minute video also featured Kjellberg dressed up as Mr Rogers, Santa being declared as fake, and pets being “buried.”
But, on February 18, the platform disabled the video, citing child safety concerns. YouTube said “This video violated two policies: 1) Child safety: by looking like it was made for kids but containing inappropriate content. 2) Harassment: by inciting harassment @ other creators– we allow criticism but this crossed the line.”
PewDiePie responds to YouTube takedown
The removal caught everyone by surprise, not least PewDiePie himself. Clearly, a lot of work had gone into making the video, and it hadn’t been intended for children.
During a livestream on February 21, fans bombarded the YouTuber with questions about the situation. He says he’s planning a more formal response, but spoke about the incident briefly.
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“Obviously, the music video got removed by YouTube. If there’s a place for me to address it, it’s not during a livestream, but I also really want to play today. I’m just going to say I’m really disappointed, and I obviously disagree, but I’m not going to address it further than that today.”
Topic starts at 8 minutes.
“Part of me didn’t want to go live because I knew everyone was just going to ask about it. And I get it. But yeah, not here, sorry.”
And he wasn’t wrong, as the chat was filled with fans wanting to know the latest on the situation. It sounds like he plans to make a fuller response to the issue, perhaps in a new video on his channel.
YouTube has said that any reuploads of the video will be removed, even if they’re only partial clips. This almost certainly means that the video will never see the light of day again, outside of random reuploads that the platform will presumably strike down as they find them.