Jenna Marbles announces her retirement from decade long YouTube career after apologizing for old offensive videos posted on her channel.
Jenna Marbles is the latest victim of cancel culture. While some of her videos can be considered offensive, her actions since and apology prove she is no longer that person. In her 11 minute video, Jenna said goodbye to her over 20 million subscribers. I haven’t really watched a Jenna Marbles video in a few years, but her early videos are some of my favorite on YouTube. My favorite one has to be the one about how to avoid people. I think she’s since made it private, but I used to watch it all the time. Anyways, Jenna has been a staple on YouTube since its inception, and it is sad to see her go.
Racist Videos
One of the videos she apologized for in this video is the one in which she imitated Nicki Minaj. In this video, she is in blackface. She made this video in 2011, and it has been privatized for a number of years and unavailable to the public. Jenna said multiple times in her apology she is ashamed to have ever made this video and have this in her history. While blackface is wrong, I believe her apology. They say actions speak louder than words, and her actions and words prove she truly is sorry. She took the video down and has not posted anything similar to that since. That shows growth and the ability to learn from one’s mistakes.
She’s also calling herself out on her past racism towards Asians. The video in question, entitled “Bounce that Dick,” was also posted in 2011. I haven’t seen the video so I don’t know what it’s all about, but I know the line she mentioned. She raps “hey Ching Chong Wing Wong, shake your King Kong ding dong. Sorry that was racist, I’m not good at rap songs.” You can tell in the apology video that she is deeply embarrassed of this video. She also took this video down a long time ago. Again, I think she has learned from her mistakes and if given the chance, she could prove it. In fact, she has proven it with her actions since 2011.
Cancel Culture
I think there is a specific set of circumstances for someone to truly deserve being cancelled. Most of the time when a cancel campaign is going on, I am against the cancellation. I think, if someone repeatedly make the same mistakes they deserve a reprimand. At that point it is not a mistake, it is a personality trait. However, if someone makes a mistake once and sincerely apologizes for it, I think a second chance is warranted. When that second chance is taken away, so is the opportunity for that person to grow. They are then left jaded and angry.
Anyways, I will miss Jenna Marbles, and I truly hope this is not the last we see of her.
Are you a fan of Jenna Marbles?