One of YouTube’s biggest stars became a huge internet trend this week when his first children, twin boys, were born via surrogate mother.
Earlier this week, Shane Dawson and husband Ryland Adams announced the birth of their son on Instagram, writing that his birthday, Dec. 7, was “the best day of our lives and nothing else can compare.” ” he said in the post. ”
But instead of celebrating, Dawson and Adams, who have 19.1 million subscribers on YouTube, faced backlash. The same phenomenon happened to other influencers as a result of being too caught up in the web.
Dawson has had old content resurfaced and used against him over the years, including racist skits and controversial podcasts.
Dawson is considered the original YouTuber and one of the platform’s first and biggest homegrown stars. However, his reputation has taken a turn for the worse since 2020 following a series of issues ranging from his outdated content to the way he interacts with children online. Throughout his career, Dawson has made offensive jokes about child sexual abuse and pedophilia, which has come back to haunt him.
In addition to resurfacing these debates, Dawson and Adams’ birth announcement quickly became fodder for anti-gay critics and anti-surrogacy advocates, all right-wing influencers with a history of mocking LGBTQ people. It was instigated by.
The viral criticism of what is normally a joyful event is emblematic of what older influencers face when they experience major life events. Their digital histories are often full of offensive or outdated content, often becoming the subject of viral outrage, and many have to consider how their families could be caught up in the outbreak of a culture war. not.
After the birth announcement, social media conversations abounded about Dawson’s suitability as a parent, citing his past statements.
As part of his “shock jock” persona on YouTube, Dawson often pushed boundaries. He has made documentary-style videos about other YouTubers like Jake Paul, commented on conspiracy theories, and posted reaction-style content. Some of his older videos contained racist images, including blackface, which later resurfaced and Dawson apologized for, but which also drew attention from mainstream comedians such as Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon. It was similar.
But the content that received the most attention was his vulgar jokes about children. In one case, Dawson asked his teenage fan to twerk while filming a video for the now-defunct website Omegle. Dawson has spoken out about children and pedophilia on several podcasts, at one point proposing a “justification for pedophilia.”
In a June 2020 video addressing the controversy, Dawson denied there was any serious intent behind the joke.
“I did this to shock or because I thought it was funny,” Dawson said in the video. “It all sucks and I promise it’s not real. It’s not me. Have you ever done a sketch where kids are saying weird things? Yes. Do I have any regrets? Yes .”
Representatives for Mr. Dawson and Mr. Adams did not respond to requests for comment.
Dawson and Adams updated their YouTube followers in the lead up to becoming fathers, but have yet to comment on the backlash to the announcement.
According to the platform, an X post about the announcement from an account called Pop Crave has been viewed more than 30 million times.
Some replies to the post begged to “please save the poor baby.” Others have also questioned how Mr. Dawson “could make a surrogate ‘adoptive’,” but this post, like others, confuses adoption and gestational surrogacy. are doing. Others suggested calling child services. Some posts criticized surrogacy practices, while others appeared to be anti-LGBTQ.
Paige Christie, a British YouTuber who creates video essays and has commented on Mr Dawson and his controversy for years, said: “YouTube has allowed so much problematic behavior to remain under the radar for so long.” There was a time,” he says. “There are now more campaigns to remove people from the platform.”
Other YouTubers have also received harsh criticism when announcing their pregnancies and childbirth. YouTuber Trisha Paytas (also considered the original YouTuber) received similar comments when she announced that she was pregnant with her daughter Malibu Barbie Paytas-Hacmon. Ahead of Malibu Barbie’s birth, Reddit users suggested calling Child Protective Services.
But the frenzy over Dawson’s baby took on a new level of virality, as various factions turned the news into ammunition for culture wars over surrogacy and LGBTQ parenting issues.
Conservative celebrities known for tackling social issues, including Ian Miles Chong and the @EndWokeness account, shared the announcement with their followers. @EndWokeness calls himself “a mocker of woke people” and has previously made anti-LGBTQ posts, accusing Dawson and Adams of “buying” his son. did.
John, who has recently made fun of LGBTQ people, asked his followers for their thoughts on the matter. In his reply, one said he “feels sorry” for the baby who was “taken away from his mother and given to two men.” Some referred to the births as “child trafficking.” One person said, “I feel anxious.” Still, some said they had little issue with how Mr. Dawson and Adams’ children were born.
Karen North, a clinical professor of communication at the University of Southern California, said Dawson’s past statements and influence make him vulnerable to attack. “Shane Dawson is an easy target for him, not only when he’s angry about the issues he’s raised, but also when he wants to promote his own views,” she says.
Some of the posts referred to Dawson and Adams “buying” or “purchasing” babies from women. Some say the couple were pedophiles and wanted a baby boy. Many posts implied or stated that Dawson should not be allowed to have children because she is married to a man.
Doug Nejaim, a professor at Yale Law School, said surrogacy has been a topic of debate for years and remains controversial outside the United States.
Nejaim said that in some cases, the backlash in situations like Dawson’s may have more to do with homophobia than an actual interest in discussing surrogacy itself.
“There are arguments against these single-parent families and children being raised without mothers, so some conservatives who criticize same-sex parenting also criticize surrogacy,” Nejaim said.
