Jenna Marbles is an internet influencer who has been uploading to YouTube for over a decade. Recently, the star uploaded a video titled "A Message" where she expressed how sorry she was and apologized for her past.
She addressed why the majority of her older videos have been moved to private and discussed her desire to cleanse herself from the past. She also decided it would be best for her to remove herself from YouTube entirely, whether it be temporary or permanent, only time will tell.
She first addresses how she has recently been named an "unproblematic queen," but she doesn't feel she deserves this crown.
In her older videos, she had received backlash for uploading content that included blackface, racial slurs, sl*t shaming, and gender roles. She admits she is ashamed and that those videos do not reflect her attitudes today, saying she was extremely naive when she uploaded them.
Jenna also stated that she was being "requested" to address her mistakes.
She was more than okay with doing so because she wants to hold others to the same standard of morals and accountability that she is holding herself. She also mentions how she has received hate for the people she follows or is friends because she's supporting racists and homophobes by doing so, but she simply states that she is "just a person trying to navigate the world the same way you are," and she doesn't always know the truth or what is right and wrong.
Uploading this video showed extreme maturity and growth from Jenna, but what does it mean for the rest of the YouTube community?
Other stars such as Shane Dawson, Manny MUA, Nikita Dragun, Laura Lee, and Jeffree Star - as well as many more - have been called out for their less-than-respectful pasts, but what will they do about it? Some have posted "tearful" apology videos while others have gotten off the hook with a simple tweet.
Should they be held more accountable?
Should they be "cancelled," too?
Or should we take Jenna's advice and just understand that everyone has a past, and it doesn't reflect who they are today?
