BBC 'pull plug' on KSI show following Sidemen racism controversy - what did YouTuber say?

The BBC have pulled the plug on a planned show with KSI, according to reports.

The YouTuber turned boxer was in talks for his own entertainment programme with the Beeb. The 29-year-old has long dominated online platforms and was looking to turn his attention to mainstream television.

However the show has been axed, according to The Sun, following crisis talks in the wake of his recent racism scandal. KSI apologised in April and took a break from socialmedia following the incident.

An insider told The Sun: "The BBC has decided not to go forward with the programme after the controversy. It can't be seen to endorse anything like that and bosses were as shocked and disappointed by the slur as everyone else."

What did KSI say?

The YouTuber and co-founder of Prime drinks - including Hydration and Energy - used a racial slur while on a version of ‘Countdown’ on Sidemen earlier this year. He had to come up with a word from the letters, O, I, A, K, P, V, Z, U, B and ended up coming up with the word ‘P*ki’.

He said: “I don’t mean this maliciously, but the word’s ‘P*ki. I’m sorry, we need points, but guys, come on”. His answer, which was bleeped, prompted laughs from fellow personalities on the show with one could be heard saying, “You don’t mean that!”.

Following a backlash from fans, KSI issued an apology and announced he was taking a break from social media. He said: “I wanna apologise for saying a racial slur in a recent Sidemen video.

“There’s no excuse, no matter the circumstances, I shouldn’t have said it and I’m sorry. I’ve always said to my audience that they shouldn’t worship me or put me on a pedestal because I’m human. I’m not perfect, I’m gonna mess up in life, and lately I’ve been messing up a lot. So I’ve decided I’m gonna just take a break from social media for a while.”

The offensive video has since been taken down from YouTube.

Who is KSI?

KSI was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, on 19 June 1993. His real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams “JJ“ Olatunji but is better known by his moniker. He first began on YouTube in 2008 under the name JideJunior.

A year later he registered his current channel under the name KSIOlajideBT and began posting gaming-commentary related content - mainly focused on the popular sports series FIFA. KSI’s videos grew in popularity and he dropped out of sixth form college to pursue YouTube full-time. In 2012 he began to expand the videos on his channel, including vlogs and other games outside FIFA. That year he reached one million subscribers on YouTube.

He has been a member of Sidemen since 2013. The group is a collective of YouTubers who produce videos often consisting of challenges, sketches and video-game commentary. His main YouTube channel now has over 34M subscribers, as of 2022.

Since 2017, KSI has embarked on a boxing career. He first fought fellow YouTubers Joe Weller and Logan Paul. In 2022 he faced Swarmz and Alcaraz Pineda both in the same night, winning both boughts.

KSI released his debut studio album in 2020, Dissimulation, and it debuted at number two in the UK charts. It also received mostly positive reviews. His second album All Over the Place in 2021, which was proceeded by four top three singles in the UK and the album topped the charts.