YouTube star Shane Dawson is the target of another death hoax after “Shane Dawson died” became a Twitter trend on Wednesday evening. The YouTuber has kept a low profile after addressing his past controversies which resurfaced last year.
In 2020, Dawson released a 20-minute video titled “Taking Accountability” where he addresses his previously inadequate apologies for offensive racial comedy that some critics have described as racist.
Several controversial videos and podcasts surfaced — with topics ranging from Willow Smith to his cat — which fueled calls to “cancel” the YouTube star. The video of Willow Smith led to Dawson being called out by actor and musician Jaden Smith who accused him of sexualizing his then 11-year-old sister.
As previously reported, this all led to a similar Twitter trend in July 2020 that claimed Dawson died.
Shane Dawson trends on Twitter
The 32-year-old YouTuber is not actually believed to be dead. While the origin of the death hoax is unknown, the Twitter trend is populated by K-Pop references as well as cruel remarks addressing the controversial Dawson’s wellbeing — with no official sources having any announcements about him.
One Twitter user wrote in regard to the rumor, “Can you guys stop saying Shane Dawson is dead when he isn’t you really got my hopes up on this fine wednesday evening.”
However, some Twitter users pushed back on the cruel hoax; with one writing, “I get Shane is a bad person to a lot of people but wishing death on someone is just nasty…”
Shane Dawson teases return to YouTube
Last month, Dawson broke his silence by giving his fans an update on his second YouTube channel ShaneGlossin. In the community section, he shared a video of his partner Ryland Adams that he edited along with an update on his current status.
“Sorry I haven’t been online in a while. Just been taking time for my mental health. But I’ve been getting creative and editing again! It’s been really fun. Check out Ryland’s new video that I edited. I’m really proud of it.”
The responses, which you can read here, are mostly negative with most fans telling the former YouTube star not to return. YouTube reportedly suspended monetization on all three of Shane Dawson’s channels indefinitely after his offensive content resurfaced last year in June.
It is unclear whether YouTube has since reversed the ban preventing Dawson from earning revenue from his videos.