Taking a step back. Jenna Marbles (real name Jenna Nicole Mourey) revealed she needs a break from the channel after taking ownership for her past racist or hurtful videos.
“I get it,” Marbles, 33, began her video message on YouTube on Thursday, June 25. “I feel like we are at a time where we are purging ourselves of anything and everything toxic.”
She explained that “I’m being requested that I address things that I’ve done in my past,” before noting that what specific videos in her catalogue needed to be looked at.
“There’s things in my past that I’m not proud of,” she said. “I’m literally not trying to put out negative things in the world.”
The New York native, who has more than 20 million subscribers, said she has pulled many of her videos from the streaming platform because of their content and because she has grown as a person.
“I don’t want anyone to feel upset about anything. I don’t want to contribute to that,” she added. “I don’t want someone to watch something and feel hurt or offended now for any reason at all.”
The comedian then apologized for the time she wore blackface to impersonate Nicki Minaj. The video has since made private. “It was not my intention to do blackface,” Marbles explained. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that people are offended and it hurt them and for that I am so unbelievably sorry.”
She continued: “This isn’t OK and it hasn’t existed on the internet for a long time, because it’s not OK. I haven’t done anything remotely like that, because I heard people say, ‘This is blackface.’ And I don’t like that. I would never want to put that into the world.”
The social media star later addressed her 2011 video called “Dounce That D—k,” wherein she included offensive imagery and language to Asian people.
“It’s awful. It doesn’t need to exist. It’s inexcusable. It’s not OK,” Marbles said. “I’m incredibly sorry if this offended you this, now, whenever. … It shouldn’t have existed. I shouldn’t have said that ever. It’s not cool, it’s not cute, it’s not OK. And I’m embarrassed that I ever made that, period.”
The vlogger, who started her channel in 2010, showed another clip that “came across unbelievably slut-shamey” before opening up to her followers about being a work in progress.
“I’m just a person trying to navigate the world the same way that you are. I don’t always know what’s right and what wrong, what the truth is. I’m just trying my best,” she explained. “As someone clearly with their own past that they’re not proud of, I do just try to see people for they are right now, today, and that they’re not defined by their pasts, and I understand. I’m trying to do the same thing that you are and support and be friends with people that I’m proud of and that I love, and just know that I’m doing my best.”
After thinking it over and thanking her followers, the YouTuber announced that she will be spending some time away from the social media platform.
“I’m literally just here to have a good time, and I don’t think I’m having a good time, and it seems like maybe some other people aren’t having a good time, so for now I just can’t exist on this channel,” she said with tears in her eyes.
Marbles concluded: “I’m not sure that I want to continue doing stuff on this channel. I don’t want to put anything out in the world that’s gonna hurt anybody. I need to be done with this channel for now or forever, I don’t know. Good talk.”
