Jenna Marbles is saying goodbye to the platform that made her a star. The 33-year-old YouTuber, whose real name is Jenna Mourey, announced on Thursday that she is stepping away from her channel after receiving backlash for wearing blackface and being racially insensitive in past videos.
Marbles posted a lengthy video apologizing for her offensive videos, as well as explaining that she never meant to offend anyone. The influencer addressed a 2011 video in which she impersonated Nicki Minaj, stating that “it was not my intention to do blackface.”
“I do want to tell you how unbelievably sorry I am if I ever offended you by posting this video or by doing this impression and that that was never my intention,” she expressed. “It’s not OK. It’s shameful. It’s awful. I wish it wasn’t part of my past.”
She also touched on a 2012 rap parody in which she makes fun of Asians. The song includes the lyrics, “Hey Ching Chong Wing Wong, shake your King Kong ding dong.” The video does include Marbles saying, “Sorry, that was racist,” but she went on to say in her message that it was “inexcusable” and it “shouldn’t have existed.”
“For now, I just can’t exist on this channel,” she relayed. “I think I’m just going to move on from this channel for now…I don’t know how long it’s going to be. I just want to make sure the things I’m putting in the world aren’t hurting anyone … so I need to be done with this channel, for now or for forever.”
Marble began her YouTube channel in February 2010 and has over 20.3 million subscribers with over 1.6 billion views. She’s since deleted or hidden many of her past videos.
Marbles is one of many celebrities who have come forth and apologized for wearing blackface or for racially insensitive actions they’ve made in the past. Actress Eiza Gonzalez spoke out and apologized this week after photos of her wearing blackface in her 2007 telenovela, Lola, Érase Una Vez, resurfaced.
Last month, Jimmy Fallon also apologized after coming under fire on social media due to a recently resurfaced Saturday Night Live clip in which the late-night host is seen performing in blackface.
