PewDiePie debuts as a Vtuber, faces backlash online

The world's biggest YouTuber, Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg, has officially made his debut as a Vtuber, and a section of the internet is not happy.

The 31-year old recently made his highly-anticipated return to streaming, with an unexpected "reverse face reveal" in tow.

Following the footsteps of faceless YouTubers such as Dream and Corpse Husband, PewDiePie announced that henceforth, he would be streaming under the guise of a digital avatar. The motivation behind taking this decision was jokingly deemed as an "attempt to stay relevant."

Soon enough, in his second Minecraft stream since his return, PewDiePie unveiled his Vtuber avatar, a more slick and polished upgrade on the anime avatar he seemed to be using initially, replete with a vest and tie:

While fans lauded his new avatar as an innovative approach, it ended up invoking the ire of the online community, especially the Vtuber section.

From calling him out for his past racist remarks to leveling further allegations against him, things soon turned ugly as the community condemned his decision to become a Vtuber.

They believed he was merely cashing in on the trend, all at the expense of the "original" Vtubers. This ultimately opened up a whole new Pandora's box online, as fans and critics duked it out.

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Twitter reacts to PewDiePie becoming a Vtuber

Throughout his extremely successful streaming career, PewDiePie has often been known to experiment with an eclectic range of games and personas, most of which have been warmly received by the general public.

While his recent Vtuber experiment might very well have been in jest, as a temporary one, by the looks of it, it seems to have triggered Vtubers.

Here are some reactions, as incensed creators took to Twitter to vent their grievances with the Swedish star:

Another section took a more level-headed approach, defending PewDiePie's decision:

While he has had his fair share of controversies, PewDiePie has taken accountability for his actions and received praised for his character development.

One hot trend on the internet right now is that of a virtual YouTuber or a Vtuber, which has received a significant boost during the pandemic.

A phenomenon that typically involves an anime-inspired digital avatar of a live-streamer, the Vtuber trend is immensely popular in Japan. It seems to be gaining a stronghold in the west too.

The backlash that PewDiePie seems to be facing now is quite similar to the one Imane "Pokimane" Anys had to deal with when she announced her debut as a Vtuber.

As a whole new debate rages online, it remains to be seen what the longevity of PewDiePie's Vtuber career ultimately ends up looking like.