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King of YouTube Felix ‘PewDiePie’ Kjellberg has permanently disabled comments on his YouTube channel.
This is a big deal for someone such as PewDiePie, whose whole success is based on his popularity with his ‘bros’, much of which is built up via his interactions with them.
"I’m going to turn the comments off forever, they’re not coming back,” he said in the video below. "I go to the comments, and it’s mainly spam, it’s people self-advertising. I’m sick of it.”
Kjellberg had on social media speculated that he might allow fans to comment were they to donate to charity, but has abandoned that idea after conceding that it was technically challenging.
Also seen in the video is his decision not to take part in the Ice Bucket Challenge and instead give $1,000 to charity – which he can probably afford – as well as discuss the condition directly which, he points out, was the original goal.
For context it’s worth noting that Kjellberg’s employer Maker Studio last month launched a dedicated app for the star, perhaps signalling the fist move in a gradual shift away from YouTube.
Here’s the video:
