The internet has yet to recover from the biggest loss in YouTube history: Jenna Marbles. It has been years since the YouTuber announced her retirement from the platform, but no matter how much time passes, every single one of us will always hold out hope for her return.
If you happen to be out of the loop, Jenna Mourey, best known by her YouTube moniker Jenna Marbles (named after her dog, Mr. Marbles), left YouTube in 2020 following criticism over past videos where she made controversial remarks and actions, leading to accusations of racism and sexism.
After facing public backlash — something many YouTubers who rose to fame in the 2010s experienced — Marbles announced her indefinite retirement from the public eye, and to this day, she has yet to return. Recently, however, she started trending on Twitter, sparking hope among fans that their favorite creator might finally be back after years of radio silence — though it may have been more wishful thinking and delusion than reality.
After investigating the trend, it became clear that much of the buzz stemmed from a tweet by Kira (kirawontmiss), an account with 1.9 million followers on X. The tweet quoted an earlier post that said, “They don’t make YouTubers like this anymore,” adding the caption, “And we thank God for that.”
The tweet, which now has over 18,000 retweets and quotes, was flooded with Jenna Marbles’ fans demanding that the original poster “keep her name out of their mouth,” insisting that Marbles was different from the other YouTubers mentioned. This sparked her name trending on the platform, leading to even more tweets from hopeful fans. “putting jenna marbles with the rest of these should get you literal jail time,” someone else said.
The original tweet featured a list of famous YouTubers who lost momentum over the years due to various controversies, including Shane Dawson, James Charles, Jeffree Star, Miranda Sings, and Trisha Paytas. All of them gained fame in the 2000s and 2010s, but their downfalls soon followed. From indecent behavior towards minors to accusations of animal abuse, these creators have faced backlash, resulting in them being “canceled” — though, in today’s world, we know that practically means nothing.
Mourey, however, was one of the few who completely quit her YouTube career in response to criticism. She stepped away from the negative press and took genuine accountability for her past actions, which included blackface — something that fellow creators like Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson have also been criticized for but continued to post videos regardless.
Perhaps Mourey’s decision to leave YouTube is why so many fans have forgiven her. While others have posted apologies, often blaming the humor of the 2000s for their behavior — which is a valid argument. A study from Cedarville University points out that comedy will never “cease to exist,” but the way it is “produced and consumed” has evolved — Marbles went a step further and took full responsibility, opting not to produce any more content altogether.
By stepping down, fans grew to miss her content and decided that her past controversies weren’t enough to warrant a permanent goodbye. However, had she stayed, the internet likely would have been relentless in holding her accountable for her actions. So, I’m really sorry to tell you, while you may be spiraling with hope, it’s clear that her decision was for the best.
Published: Sep 25, 2024 09:34 am