#MemeGate

Overview

#MemeGate refers to an online feud between YouTubers LeafyIsHere and Ethan Klein of h3h3productions starting in late March 2016. The primary causes of the disagreement centered on accusations that LeafyIsHere cyberbullyied young and disabled vloggers and that Klein was hypocritical and preached sanctimonious views.

Background

On March 19th, 2016, LeafyIsHere uploaded a reaction video criticizing and mocking the physical appearance and on-camera persona of fellow YouTube vlogger TommyNC2010.^[1] The video garnered over 460,000 views in less than 24 hours, though it was removed from his channel shortly thereafter. The same day, TommyNC2010 uploaded a response video in which the vlogger revealed that he has been living with autism and as a result of Leafy’s commentary, he has received death threats from his fans. On March 20th, the video reached the front page of the /r/videos^[2] subreddit. Over the next four days, the video gathered more than 990,000 views and 23,400 comments. That day, YouTuber h3h3productions posted a video title "The Leafy Rant," which accused LeafyIsHere of being a bully and picking solely on people who are incapable of defending themselves (shown below, right). Within four days, the video garnered upwards of 2.7 million views on YouTube and 9,600 votes (63% upvoted) on the /r/videos^[4] subreddit.

Notable Developments

On March 20th, the DramaAlert YouTube channel uploaded a video in which host DJ Keemstar discusses the backlash against Leafy, noting that Leafy was "losing subs at an alarming rate" (shown below, left). On March 21st, YouTuber boogie2988 uploaded a video commenting on the drama between the two vloggers (shown below, right).

LeafyIsHere's Response

On March 23rd, LeafyIsHere uploaded a video titled "The H3h3productions Rant," in which he accuses Klein of being a hypocrite for calling him a bully, and exposes various private messages in which Klein compliments Leafy's content and insults YouTuber Pyrocynical (shown below). Within 24 hours, the video gained over 1.3 million views and 126,000 comments.

On March 23rd, Keemstar uploaded a video to the DramaAlert YouTube channel about the controversy, referring to it as "#MemeGate" (shown below, left). The following day, Klein posted a lengthy explanation on the /r/h3h3productions subreddit, where he revealed he was "embarassed and ashamed" by what he said in the private conversations with Leafy. Also on March 24th, YouTuber Videogamedunkey uploaded a parody video titled "The Jontron Rant," in which he jokes that Jontron is a "piece-of-shit-rat-bastard" (shown below, right). Meanwhile, the tech news site iDigitalTimes^[3] published an article about the controversy, which noted that Keemstar was reaping the benefits of YouTube feuds with his Dramaalert channel.

Later that day, YouTuber Pyrocynical posted a video titled "Let's Call it Quits #uniteyoutube", it which he claims both Leafy and Klein "fucked up," and refused to continue the drama any further (shown below).

Search Interest

External References