What did GradeAUnderA do? YouTuber under fire for using an anti-Semitic caricature as a video's thumbnail

YouTuber Ram "GradeAUnderA" has found himself in hot water after using an anti-Semitic caricature in a thumbnail of his recent video. For those unaware, GradeAUnderA is a well-known figure in the content creation community, best known for his sketch-based commentary. On September 28, 2024, the content creator posted a video titled, How the Funeral Industry Is a Scam, with a thumbnail of the "Happy Merchant," an anti-Semitic caricature.

He eventually changed the thumbnail, which now features Mr. Krabs from the popular Nickelodeon cartoon series SpongeBob SquarePants.

GradeAUnderA responded to the controversy by tweeting that he "used a random meme character" which caused an "uproar." Claiming that people call "everything racist nowadays," the commentary YouTuber said:

"People call everything racist nowadays. I used a random meme character I found in a thumbnail and it's causing (an) uproar, so I'll change it, I guess. Don't see how it's racist myself, but have to (be) careful w (with) people nowadays so I'll change it. Shame. Anyways, video today or tomorrow."

X user @VIK96_NYC responded, claiming that it wasn't the first time GradeAUnderA used the aforementioned caricature:

"Grade, it wasn't your first time using that character. You also used it in your Valentine's Day video many years back. Also, it's not like Pepe the Frog which got co-opted by the far right. This meme character originated in far-right circles from the start," said X user @VIK96_NYC.

In response, the YouTuber said:

"Exactly. People saw it as a harmless joke then (which is exactly what it is) but people look for outrages now. I don't get it. It reminds me of South Park showing Muhammed, no one cared the 1st time but it was a huge issue the 2nd time. Oh well, lesson learned."

Furthermore, GradeAUnderA's response to the controversy has received Community Notes. It said:

"The 'Meme character' in question is an anti-Semitic caricature that originates from Far-Right cartoonist Nick Bougas. It was originally used to compare Jewish and Black people to rats and cockroaches."

Screenshot of the Community Note posted under the YouTuber's response to the controversy (Image via X)

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GradeAUnderA claimed his video with the controversial thumbnail was flagged as "not advertiser friendly" in a now-deleted tweet

The YouTuber's now-deleted tweet (Image via X)

In a now-deleted tweet, GradeAUnderA disclosed that the video, for which he used the controversial thumbnail, had been flagged as "not advertised friendly." Claiming that he uploaded the same video "four separate times" on his second channel and "no issues came up," the content creator demanded an explanation from the Google-owned platform.