KSI, a British YouTuber, rapper, and boxer who is also a co-founder and member of the Sidemen, has recently apologized for using a racial slur and has announced his decision to take a break from social media.
This comes after KSI and the Sidemen appeared in a video based on the U.K. game show “Countdown,” where the contestant has to choose between two stacks of letter tiles, one containing vowels and the other consonants and has 30 seconds to form the longest single word they can using nine letters.
KSI formed the word “P**i,” a pejorative term used to describe people of South Asian origin in the U.K., and while the offensive word was bleeped, KSI’s fellow Sidemen seemed amused by the slur.
The clip drew massive outrage on social media, with leading arts practitioners hailing from the South Asian community expressing their disappointment. Actor, writer, and producer Guz Khan, who was BAFTA nominated for “A Man Like Mobeen,” posted a series of tweets expressing his disappointment with KSI, and even made a veiled threat towards him.
DJ Bobby Friction also expressed his disappointment, stating that he had been physically beaten by racists for his entire childhood and was upset that KSI thought it was funny.
In light of the backlash, KSI has issued an apology, saying that there is no excuse for using a racial slur and that he is sorry. He also acknowledged that he has been making mistakes lately and has decided to take a break from social media for a while.
The offensive video has been removed from the Sidemen YouTube channel.
(With inputs from msn)
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