Shane Dawson is a big YouTube personality (Picture: Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock (3923247j)
Video has surfaced of YouTuber Shane Dawson calling a six-year-old ‘sexy’ and admitting to ‘googling naked babies.’
#ShaneDawsonIsOverParty has been trending after graphic audio surfaced from a podcast that originally aired four years ago, in which Shane attempts to ‘justify’ paedophilia and says it’s comparable to having a foot fetish.
The 29-year-old YouTube personality has been accused of being a paedophile by a compilation video on Pop Blast, which pulls audio from Dawson’s podcast Shane And Friends from four years ago.
In the audio from the 7 minutes 20 mark, Shane describes how a six-year-old came up to him while taking a picture of his salad for Instagram, describing how they got talking about how many followers they have on the platform.
Speaking on the podcast about the encounter, Shane said: ‘I said okay, why do you have so many followers? And she said “Oh I’m a cheerleader” Oh really? And she shows me her Instagram which are like…
‘First of all, I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this, but she’s like sexy.’
In the same episode, Shane then explains his ‘justification’ for paedophilia.
Shane said: ‘Here’s my justification for pedophilia: People have foot fetishes, people have fetishes about everything, that’s fine, do your thing.
‘So why is it when somebody looks at and Googles like ‘naked baby’ on Google and jerks off to it, they can get arrested? I don’t understand that.’
Shane Dawson speaking onstage back in 2016 (Picture: Mike Windle/Getty Images for dick clark productions)
Shane also continued explaining how he once typed in ‘naked baby’ into Google to ‘pretend’ he was a paedophile, before laughing off the incident.
‘Here’s the worst part of it, I actually went to Google… I didn’t want to see child porn but I just thought okay let me pretend like I’m a paedophile for a second.
‘So I typed in “naked baby”. First of all I don’t know why anybody would be turned on by that. But they were sexy… I’m kidding.’
Slightly concerned, a guest on the podcast exclaimed: ‘You can literally get arrested for saying this!’
no. that video is all jokes taken out of context and has all the punchlines removed. it also is illegal to claim someone is a pedofile and use 6 year old jokes as “proof”. — Shane Dawson (@shanedawson) January 10, 2018
Shane has since responded to the video, saying: ‘That video is all jokes taken out of context and has all the punchlines removed.
‘It is also illegal to claim someone is a pedofile and use 6 year old jokes as “proof”.’
Some fans on Twitter have started the posting messages with the hashtag #shanedawsonisoverparty, with one writing: ‘This makes me completely heartbroken.
‘I supported him for over 3 years and I loved him to death. Oh my god I honestly don’t know what to do this is making me sick.’
Shane Dawson has previously been criticised for his YouTube content (Picture: Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock)
Another wrote: ‘Ew what he said is so disgusting and wrong.’
Shane has since posted a video in response to the claims, denying he googled naked babies and dismissing the incident as a ‘shitty joke’.
The YouTuber has previously caused controversy by using blackface in a number of his videos, playing characters of Wendy Williams and Chris Brown.
Following an outcry, Shane released a video apologising for using blackface in 2014, describing himself as ‘ignorant’ and apologising to the offended parties.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to Shane’s reps for comment.
Shane Dawson, a popular YouTube star, has apologised after new video appeared to show him jokingly endorsing paedophilia and suggesting he had searched for images of children.
The video, apparently taken from a six-year-old podcast, saw Mr Dawson suggest that he had searched for "naked baby" on Google and that what he found there was "sexy". He has said since that the video showed him joking, and assuming an intentionally inflammatory character.
"I went to Google and I'm like, I want to see," he said in the audio. "I didn't want to see child porn, I just wanted to see like – OK, let me just pretend like I'm a paedophile for a sec."
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At that point, a host interrupts to say that she had nothing to do with the story, and that Mr Dawson could be arrested for what he had done.
"So I typed in naked baby. First of all, I don't understand why anybody would be turned on by that. But, they were sexy. I'm kidding."
Mr Dawson has confirmed that the comments were made by him. But he said in a video that during that time he was intentionally saying inflammatory things, in the hope of making people laugh with shock.
The apology video has already been seen more than 3 million times, and is the top of YouTube's "trending" list of popular videos. In it, he disavows the comments and looks to disassociate himself from them, while suggesting that they would be improved by the context.
"I grew up," he wrote on Twitter. "I changed my content. I apologized countless times for my shitty offensive jokes. instead of dragging me down people should use me as an example of a creator who can CHANGE and better themselves and their content. I’m so proud of who I am today."
The controversy came the same day that YouTube announced it would be severing ties with Logan Paul, another famous YouTuber who has been criticised for controversial posts. After the star posted a video of himself laughing next to a man's corpse, the site said that it would no longer make films with him or have him as part of his preferred ad programme.
