We had never heard of YouTuber PewDiePie… until he was evicted from his apartment for allegedly have insanely loud gay sex.
The 26-year-old internet star, who is straight and whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, has over 45 million subscribers and over 12 billion (yes, billion) views on his YouTube channel. He regularly films himself doing things like electrocuting his testicles, playing video games and making excessive fart jokes.
Well, in April, he was in the middle of recording a video when he received a knock on his door. It was his landlord who was upset about all the noise Kjellberg was making. He called him a f*ggot then accused him and his friend of having loud gay sex.
The next day, Kjellberg returned home to find an eviction notice on his door. Being a savvy social media star, he took to Twitter to air his grievances:
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
https://twitter.com/pewdiepie/status/743890492325244929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/pewdiepie/status/743894666089758720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/pewdiepie/status/743896320088354816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Hear Kjellberg tell his side of the story (and hear his landlord call him the f-word) below…
Baba Booey Fafa Fooey
Can he sue?
Stache
I remember when living in Seattle I had this evil bull dyke lesbian manager who decided she didn’t like me one day. That or she wanted to move one of her friends in. My apartment was unfortunately next to hers.
You get thrown out if you violate a the bldgs checklist 3 x. Well, she checked me 3 x in one week for listening to my tv too loud and that was it. Check, check, check. Out you go. Lol
You had 0 rights as a tenant. All based on the whims of whoever was the manager at that time. Here in CA we have strong tenant rights. Not nearly as easy.
crowebobby
For the dickhead who is invariably going to ask who this guy is, as if PewDiePie is the nobody and our Queerty commenter is the somebody with opinions worth knowing. He’s someone who has 45 million subscribers and over 12 billion (yes, BILLION) views on his YouTube channel and earned $7.45 million last year, so not knowing who he is means you’re not very informed on the zeitgeist you’re living in. I love that his “I could buy this house; I don’t fucking need you.” is a simple fact not a boast. It would be great if he posted the name and address of his landlord once he’s moved.
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
@crowebobby: Barely heard of him from work Millennials. They are about useless. Anyway, isn’t he the one that got busted screwing an underage girl and will soon be a prison bitch?
Stache
@crowebobby: “He regularly films himself doing things like electrocuting his testicles, playing video games and making excessive fart jokes.”
Wow. Amazing I have heard of him. Sounds very talented. Lol
Stache
..havn’t.
MaxH
@Baba Booey Fafa Fooey: Yes, he broke housing law and anti discrimination laws.
Paco
Never heard of him. He must be popular with millennials.
Why are people still getting evicted for being gay, or being perceived as gay?
nevereclipsed81
How have people never heard of him? He’s not just a popular youtube star he’s the most popular youtube star. Not to get into semantics over popularity. Interesting story. I believe he lives in London too which is surprising that this would happen there. He’s rich so it won’t hurt him financially, but this is pretty awful. He can be loud in his videos, but I think he has soundproofing. If it was a general noise complaint that would be one thing, but that landlord took a pretty stupid and bigoted turn in all this. He’s straight and has a girlfriend who is also a youtuber.
Paco
@nevereclipsed81: Not everyone gets their entertainment from youtube. Youtube “stars” rank below reality television “stars” on my list of importance, with reality television stars being very low on the list. So yes it is possible to not know who he is.
MyDadPulledOut
typical league of legends players. cares only about himself. nobody else exists.
MyDadPulledOut
@Stache: “You had 0 rights as a tenant. All based on the whims of whoever was the manager at that time. ”
girl please. this sounds like something my drug dealer might say.
KevinG
I’ve never heard of him either, but if he had 45 million subscribers and 12 BILLION views, I’m willing to concede that says more about me than him. But no, gay porn companies don’t hire people,just to do voice-over work. Not that he apparently needs the money. Still, even though he could probably buy the apartment building, why give the jerk the money (assuming he’s the owner and not a manager). He might want to consider suing just to teach the owner a lesson.
crowebobby
@IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou: No, he didn’t get busted for anything and certainly not for screwing underage girls. He was criticized for making rape jokes and he immediately apologized and hasn’t made any since. But since you’re obviously a pedophile like all gays, don’t hesitate to spread the rumor if it makes you feel better about yourself. (That’s sarcasm for the assholes who are sure not to realize it.)
GG
Why is he renting?? He is a millionaire many times over thanks to his YouTube popularity. Maybe he just always rather liked where he lived and he had been there since before becoming popular? If that’s the case, maybe this will motivate him to get his own property — then he can install sound-proofing and be as loud as he wants.
crowebobby
@Stache: Yes, his humor is on the Three Stooges level and not aimed at the sophisticates who read Queerty. (I can even boast about not watching his videos myself, though I feel anyone I’m sharing the planet with who can capture the interest of 3,000,000 people is worth taking a look at. As far as talent goes, if it didn’t take any to earn $4.7 million a year, I kind of think even the most precious queen on Queerty’s subscription list would be doing it. (Not you, of course.)
crowebobby
@crowebobby: “capture the interest 3,000,000,000” not 3 million . . . the figure, in this context, kind of blows my mind a little.
crowebobby
@Paco: He’s been on all the major talk shows, but I imagine you don’t tear yourself away from Wittgenstein and Beethoven long enough to catch up on that proletarian trash either. You’re right, you don’t HAVE to know who one in popular culture is; my brother went to his grave convinced Sinatra couldn’t sing.
Brian
You should always display manners when making love. Emitting noises as if you’re a bull-frog is not acceptable.
Malcolm Forest
I’m 47, I rarely touch Youtube and even I have heard of this guy. I work with much younger people who watch this guy all the time. He is actually very talented and clever. I have watched his game reviews and literally cried with laughter.
He is the most successful Youtuber ever, he is worth many millions.
So whatever you want to say, do not disparage this person as some kind of loser.
Philigree
@Brian: you really should try to read the article instead of just dropping in to make your troll quota. it just makes you seem dumb.
galatians328
SOMETHING IS VERY VERY WRONG with queer communities if they spend more time talking about this guy’s eviction than struggling queer folks in their community. Report are that this dude’s channel take in $5-8million yearly and has been bought by Disney. Furthermore something is very very wrong if queer folks think their sex noises are more important than neighbors’ comfortable repose in their own home next door. [ btw, appears that this dude is Swedish ].
Philigree
@Malcolm Forest: his game reviews are worth noting. but i think that some of the comments above are simply downplaying pew’s accomplishments to take jabs @crowebobby for trying to sound all high and mighty.
Realitycheck
@galatians328: Thanks!! We all share our living space with neighbors and no one gets to bother every one else with 24/7 noise, we all have jobs and we nee dot rest at home.
Toss the ;out trash in the street!!
Realitycheck
According to youtube posters the guy owns a house he rents the apartment to shoot videos, that is so wrong, apartments are for living there are plenty of professional rental
spaces for shooting videos.
Stache
@Realitycheck: In CA what he’s doing would be completely illegal and would get him immediately evicted. You’re not suppose to use an apartment for those kind of business activities. He’s literally turned his apartment into a recording studio. I’m sure the UK has similar laws.
In the video were only seeing part of the story. Notice that he’s covered the wall in foam insulation. You damn well know he didn’t do that just because. My guess is this has been going on for allot longer then he’s letting on.
I watched a few of his videos. Whatever. He’s no different then any other youtube personality IMO. Just another pretty white boy with mediocre talent. Lets face it. His followers wouldn’t follow him at all if his looks were on the average side.
o.codone
I knew it couldn’t be Davey Wavey. That hasn’t happened since I dunno, Madonna was popular or something.
Stache
Make that his teenage followers.
Roan
Where does this guy live? In the USA? Evictions don’t work like that. Not one day you’re in and the next day you’re out. In some cities it could take months to evict someone.
cabe
@crowebobby:
Seriously? This guy is a youtuber not a neurosurgeon or a PHd Economist. I’m sure he was being loud and annoying. I have lived in enough apartments over the years in every major city in the U.S. and I know that when someone complains you are loud they are usually right. I hate loud neighbors and my guess is that the landlord is right in doing what he did.
P.S. – Since when is Youtubomg an honorable position? Do you need to get an advanced degree in youtubing to progress to this level??
cabe
Be real. That is the typical victim response. I’m sure this d-bag is super noisy if all he does is make videos all day long and doesnt have a serious day job. I’m thrilled he got evicted – I hate noisy neighbors and have dealt w/ plenty over the years
QM
This guy made 7.5 million dollars last year. And he’s been making several millions for the past few years. How does he even have a landlord?
QM
Oh, just read some of the previous comments that say he owns a house. Dude’s a multi millionaire, get a warehouse space to do your creative ventures. This story sounds like B.S. though.
martinbakman
PewDiePie is a harmless and kinda goofy straight, millennial Swede. He’s very rich and not anti-gay. http://felixpierp.tumblr.com/post/66220863538/fckh8-tees-for-immediate-release
seaguy
@Stache: Thankfully Seattle’s passed some tenants right laws since you lived here. My studio apartment around the corner from the Eagle that I lived in for like 20 yrs was going to get torn down so the owner could build a larger taller apartment building. I knew from researching the law that they had to give me 90 days notice and I could apply for 3000 relocation assistance which if I got would grant me another 90 days. So when the manager taped and undated notice to my door basically saying I had to be out Pride weekend I put kibosh on that with a call to the city department of land use and development.;-)
girldownunder
I’m 55 w/two kids who love PDP. Yes, the guy is extremely well known. He’s silly in a way that appeals to them (every generation has a sensibility of what/who strikes them funny).
And as far as the, “he probably deserved it” coming from some– I’d agree, if anyone had ever complained before that first instance (& FAGGOT, & aggression, & door-slamming). I really can’t believe the jump to prop the aggressor here.
crowebobby
@cabe: I haven’t claimed he is anything more than a very successful guy, which suggests some talent at something. He also appears to be a very nice guy if you’re not blinded by the fact that he’s become very famous and very rich doing something you (that’s the universal you) have no respect for. As I’ve already said, I don’t watch his videos either; I just checked them out to have an idea of what’s going on in the world . . . and because I find him quite cute. I couldn’t care less about this dispute with the landlord . . . and I’m only mildly annoyed by the fact that the landlord immediately called them “f*ggots” to get his point across. (It’s right there in the video.) What gets under my skin is the inevitable comment by some queen who feels the need to show how far above the hoi palloi he is by claiming he has no idea who Justin Bieber and Elvis Presley are because anything these “nobodies” do is too far below his refined tastes. I know PewDiePie isn’t THAT famous and not EVERYONE watches YouTube; it’s the Dowager Countess of Grantham tone that always gets my tits in a twist. If you don’t recognize the name of a major player in popular culture, ignore it or Google it, your ignorance doesn’t place you on some exalted plain the rest of us can never hope to attain. (And there are millions of young and not so young people busting their balls in the vain hope of reaching Mr. PewDiePie’s level. You may not need a degree, but you need SOMETHING to get them to pay you $4.7 million a year.)
MaxH
He lives in Brighton & Hove, which is the British version of San Francisco. Well the Brighton part is, the Hove side is right wing voting and you see a lot of Arabs.
crowebobby
@galatians328: Read the article: he’s not queer or gay or bi and wasn’t having sex. It was a gag video they were making, which they happen to film outside the special soundproof studio he was considerate enough to construct to avoid annoying his neighbors while for making his videos.
crowebobby
If anyone’s the least bit interested in giving the guy a fair hearing. Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, alias PewDiePie, is a Swedish comedian and video produce. He originally pursued a degree in Industrial Economics and Technology Management at Chalmers University of Technology, which requires straight A’s for admittance. The following year he dropped out to focus on his YouTube channel. His mother, Johanna, was named the 2010 CIO of the Year in Sweden. His father, Ulf, is also a Chief Executive. Having been refused support from them, he began working at a hot dog stand to fund his videos.
In 2015, The Verge wrote, “Love it or hate it, his success isn’t just in playing games, but in actually connecting and talking directly to an audience. No agent, press release, or any other intermediary. He just hits record.” In December 2014, he guest starred in two episodes of the 18th season of South Park, one of his favorite series.
Conversely, he has also been received negatively by the media on some occasions, often being reported as an “inexplicable phenomenon.” Andrew Wallenstein of Variety heavily criticized him, following his channel becoming the most subscribed channel on YouTube, describing his videos as “aggressive stupidity” and “psycho babble.” Rolling Stone has documented the existence of several Reddit threads dedicated to sharing disparaging views of him.
In 2015, he was included on Time’s list of the 30 most influential people on the Internet. He was featured on the cover of Variety’s “Famechangers” issue, with the magazine ranking him as the “#1 Famechanger” or “those whose influence stands head and shoulders above the rest.” Forbes stated that PewDiePie “wouldn’t be where he is without being very good at what he does” Despite being signed under a network, he refuses to hire an editor to help him with his video output, stating “I want YouTube to be YouTube.
crowebobby
@crowebobby: There’s a second part to this, but I guess it makes it too long to be accepted.
Realityis
Who the fuck cares about this guy???? OMG. He’s a millionaire, he’ll find another place. Stupid Non-story.
Newsflash: People get evicted all of the time for different reasons. Live in NYC. It’s horrible. I wasn’t offered a lease renewal because they said I didn’t live there full time. Paid 950 in the Village…. they made some minor renovations and rented it out the next month for 1700.
Hermes
@crowebobby: *sigh* and here I was coming to your aid, and you can’t help yourself – you have to attack gays as pedophiles – a trope that has been proven false literally hundreds of times by thousands of people with actual real Ph.D.’s. What is it with you people? Is there no filter? Or is it impossible for you to imagine that the majority of people in the First World are not bigoted trolls like you?
Hermes
@QM: Have you been in London? He could buy yes, but it is far less expensive to rent, and he is, from all appearances, investing. He’s totally harmless, a fairly good kid it appears to me; he has made guest appearances on a couple of Youtube channels we watch.
Kind thoughts.
Hermes
@galatians328: Have a brain, please.
1. They were NOT having sex of any type.
2. There were no tenant complaints, this was the landlord.
3. They were doing a recording.
4. The young man is not gay, although he supports gay rights (as far as I know)
5. The issue of tenants’ rights is a real one, and my partner and I own quite a number of rentals. Tenants deserve the right to enjoy the property for which they are paying in peace. There had been no complaints, the landlord thought whatever he thought and is obviously a bigot – and even if the two had been having sex, it is none of his business – whether they are millionaires or barely solvent, as long as the rent is paid.
Hermes
@Realitycheck: Bull – more and more people work from home – whatever their business – furthermore sonny-boy – it will continue to become more common. My field is the study of the interactions between emerging technologies and Labor. Trust me, the world of work won’t be recognizable in 50 years to anyone alive now. Working from home is common, video from home is common – and your objections are born of ignorance and lack of understanding of the modern world – not of anything substantive.
Hermes
@cabe: The only complaint was the landlord as far as I can see – however – ANY position that pays you money is honorable unless its harms someone. Youtube is PERFECTLY honorable. You make over 7 million a year at your job? I’ll bet not. So get over yourself.
highestbidder
@crowebobby: sorry, 45 million giggling 12 year olds isn’t “zeitgeist”.
highestbidder
@MyDadPulledOut: “girl please”? “drug dealer”? The 70s called, they want their lingo back LOL