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YouTuber turned boxer KSI has apologised for making a racial slur in a recent YouTube video. The British rapper, real name Olajide William Olatunji, also says he will be taking a break from social media.
He made the slur during a video with his YouTube group, The Sidemen, where they were playing a Countdown challenge. KSI formed the word “P**i,” a pejorative term used to describe people of South Asian origin in the U.K., saying: “I don’t mean this maliciously, but the word’s P**i.” The offensive word was bleeped. KSI’s fellow Sidemen are evidently amused by the slur in the video.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe clip drew massive outrage on social media including from leading arts practitioners hailing from the South Asian community.
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Actor, writer and producer Guz Khan, BAFTA nominated for “A Man Like Mobeen,” posted a series of tweets, one of which said: “You see @KSI the issue you have here is that a lot of Pakistanis can make things very difficult for you and anyone giggling in this video. When they catch up with you, I hope the dead countdown joke was worth it…”
DJ Bobby Friction tweeted: “I had this racial slur thrown at me & got physical beats by racists for my entire childhood. Genuinely upset that @KSI (a guy my children love) did this & thought it was funny. The rest of them laughing can go f**k themselves too. People dehumanising brown people like it normal”
“There’s no excuse, no matter the circumstances, I shouldn’t have said it and I’m sorry,” KSI tweeted. “I’ve always said to my audience that they shouldn’t worship me or put me on a pedestal because I’m human.
“I’m not perfect, I’m gonna mess up in life, and lately I’ve been messing up a lot.” The video has since been deleted from The Sidemen’s social media, and the group have been criticised for laughing after KSI said the slur.
The Sidemen also tweeted later on Monday, apologising for the “completely unacceptable and inexcusable” slur. “The fact the incident was made light of on the show was wrong and compounded the hurt,” they added.
