PewDiePie announces YouTube hiatus after growing "very tired"

16 December 2019, 12:00

Jazmin Duribe

By Jazmin Duribe

"I'm tired. I'm feeling very tired. I don't know if you can tell."

PewDiePie has just announced that he's taking a break from YouTube, just weeks after being named the most-watched and most-subscribed creator on YouTube Rewind 2019.

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The popular YouTuber, who has 102 million subscribers, revealed the news to his fans in his latest Pew News video. "I am taking a break from YouTube next year," he began. "I wanted to say it in advance because I made up my mind. I'm tired. I'm feeling very tired. I don't know if you can tell. Just so you know, early next year I'll be away for a little while. I'll explain that later but I wanted to give a heads up."

PewDiePie YouTube video
PewDiePie YouTube video. Picture: PewDiePie via YouTube

It hasn't exactly been a secret that PewDiePie – born Felix Kjellberg – was thinking of taking some time off, though. In August, he admitted he wanted to take a YouTube hiatus. "I do think it would be good for me to take a break at some point," he said. "It would be nice to not have YouTube in my brain for the first time in 10 years."

Needless to say, PewDiePie's fans were sad to see him go – but they thought he deserved the break.

PewDiePie found fame on YouTube in 2010 and his popularity has only grown since then. In 2016, TIME named him one of The World's 100 Most Influential People. He was also named the highest paid YouTuber of 2016 and 2017 by Forbes, and he's believed to be worth £22million.

Watch PewDiePie's video here.

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However, his time on the platform hasn't been without its controversies. In 2017, PewDiePie was dropped from a lucrative deal with Disney for his antisemitic language. He was also pulled up on racist language used in a live stream later that year, and for sharing a meme that mocked Demi Lovato after she was admitted to hospital following a drug overdose.