Heads are rolling in the influencer scene, both in the USA and Germany: But hardly anyone expected that the major YouTuber Charles White would be caught up in it. After a controversial debate, the man from Florida is stepping back from the internet for now. The 29-year-old has 15.7 million subscribers on YouTube and is usually the one who judges others morally.
Who is Charles White?
- Charles White is known as Cr1TiKaL or MoistCr1TiKa. He is the leading opinion blogger in the USA in the gaming sector. In February 2024, he announced that he would refrain from the popular “reaction videos” and focus on creating more “real” content.
- He is usually the one who calls out misbehavior among influencers: For instance, he criticized the behavior of Sssniperwolf or the cookie monster affair of Pokimane. His takes on YouTubers regularly reach around 2 million views. When something really big happens, like the recent debate around Ava Kris Tyson, views can go up to 10 million.
- But now the once-popular YouTuber has talked himself into a corner – due to a misunderstanding.
Twitch streamers like Trymacs make a lot of money with “reaction streams” – Charles White has taken this to an extreme at times, but has now broken away from it:
YouTuber penguuinz0 takes an indefinite break from the internet
This is the announcement: As it has now been revealed indirectly, a podcast in which Charles White participates has announced (via dexerto) that
- Charles White is leaving “The Official Podcast” and “Red Thread”
- he is taking a “no time limit break” from the internet
- However, he is still welcome in the show, and it will continue.
- It remains unclear whether he is only stepping back from the podcast or if he will also post less other content.
Misunderstanding in transgender debate sparks shitstorm
Why is he going now?? The situation is complicated. Charles White had a discussion with influencer Sneako, with whom he had clashed before. It was about whether underage transgender individuals should be allowed to undergo gender transitions at a young age or if that should remain forbidden.
Originally, Charles White held the position that if children and parents agree, children can start hormone therapy, but the actual surgery should only be performed when the person is of legal age.
However, there was a misunderstanding, according to him, which made it seem as if he believed the surgery should also be performed on minors.
How did the misunderstanding occur? Sneako used the crude formulation “they are cutting off her dick”.
Charles White says he understood that as an exaggerated description of the entire process of gender transition. However, Sneako and the general public specifically meant the operation with “they are cutting off her dick”:
I assumed Sneako was exaggerating about a nine-year-old getting her dick cut off because I did not think anyone would believe that the transition works like that.
I thought he was talking about the general point of a child’s transition, which is a years-long process, and you can’t get that damn operation before you’re 18. I didn’t think that was a literal statement he made.
In any case, the reaction to this debate was so negative that Charles White has now apparently decided to step back from the internet for the time being.
However, a clear announcement from him personally is still missing.
The dark side of power seizes upon the issue
How did the discussion become so negative? While Charles White is still seen as a moderate voice when it comes to calling out influencers for misconduct, there are others in the US scene who take a more extreme approach than he does.
The most controversial of these opinion bloggers is Keemstar with his “DramaAlert.” For the 42-year-old, the topic was a gift, his tweet regarding Charles White’s statements reached 23 million views.
How is this being commented on? Charles White’s retreat is being mocked, with some saying that someone who sits on a “moral high horse” stumbles at the slightest counterwind, and doing so against a guy like Sneako is seen as ironic.
One comment states that the “Golden Boy” of YouTube would run off at the slightest resistance. Others see the decision in light of the emotional reactions online as being correct and understandable.
In November 2023, the roles were quite different. Charles White was on top when he spoke about the “cookie affair” of the otherwise impeccable influencer Pokimane and judged: The highest moral authority of Twitch condemns Pokimane’s behavior in the cookie affair
YouTuber says: I’m not stepping away from the internet
Update 1.8.2024: As the YouTuber has now explained, there is no truth to the reports that he is stepping back from the internet. Even though everyone believed that.
He is only scaling back because he had been online all the time, and therefore decided to step back from some projects. However, he is not retiring.
The wording in the podcast’s post was: “He is taking an indefinite break to reduce his time spent on the internet” – apparently the “indefinite break” was only related to his collaboration with the podcast, not his overall online presence.
