Boxing star KSI breaks silence after using vile racist slur in Sidemen's Countdown parody show

YouTuber-turned-boxer KSI has confirmed that he will take a “break from social media” after sparking controversy by using a disgusting racial slur in a video.

KSI, real name Olajide Williams Olatunji, shot to superstardom thanks to his controversial YouTube career and later launched a successful rap career.

The 29-year-old British star has also crossed into the world of boxing and fought the likes of Logan Paul, FaZe Temperrr, Swarmz, Joe Weller and Luis Alcaraz Pineda.

KSI teamed up with fellow internet stars like W2S, Vikkstar123, Behzinga, TBJZL, Zerkaa and Miniminter to form the ‘Sidemen’ and has since seen massive success.

The Sidemen, who have 18.2m YouTube subscribers, spoofed content around things like Tinder and, more recently, Channel 4’s popular TV show Countdown.

During one ‘Sidemen Sunday’ show, the YouTube stars took part in a Countdown-themed challenge and needed to pick out the longest word they could make from nine letters.

KSI’s team had the nickname ‘The N****s’ and the YouTuber’s team was unable to make a word, prompting ‘JJ’ to use a racial slur for his answer.

“We need points and I don’t mean this maliciously, but the word is P**i,” he said.

KSI’s shocking response prompted laughter from some members of the Sidemen, while others had their hands over their mouths in disbelief.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but we need points,” he added.

The Sidemen’s announcement tweet featuring a Countdown-themed poster and a link to the video remains online, but the video has since been removed from YouTube.

KSI on Monday took to Twitter to “apologise” for his racial slur in the now-deleted video and revealed he would be going on hiatus from social media.

“I wanna apologise for saying a racial slur in a recent Sidemen video,” he tweeted.

“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.

“Im [sic] 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.”

READ MORE:

• KSI wants Jake Paul and ‘everyone in a room’ not to leave until fight is a ‘done deal’
• Footage emerges from KSI’s phone of him taking Logan Paul’s insane frog splash at WrestleMania 39
• Logan Paul frog splashes KSI through the announce table at WrestleMania

Featured Image Credit: The Sidemen's YouTube/Alamy

Topics: KSI

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9