Shane Dawson
Shane Lee Yaw (born July 19, 1988), known online as Shane Dawson, is an American YouTuber, actor, filmmaker, writer, and musician.[4] Dawson was one of the first people to rise to fame on YouTube after he began making videos in 2008 at the age of 19 and garnered over 500 million views during the next two years.[5][6]
For the baseball player, see Shane Dawson (baseball).
Most of Dawson's early work consisted of comedy sketches in which he would play original characters, impersonate celebrities, and make light of popular culture. Some of these impressions later drew criticism for their offensive content, including racial stereotypes. He has released six original songs such as "Superluv!" and numerous parodies of popular music videos. In 2013, he started the podcast Shane and Friends, which ran for 140 episodes over four years. In 2014, he directed, produced, edited, and starred in the romantic comedy film Not Cool and appeared on the accompanying docu-series The Chair.[12] He has also appeared in the horror film Smiley (2012) and the comedy film Internet Famous (2016).
In 2015, Dawson began discussing conspiracy theories on his YouTube channel, which led to his 2019 web series Conspiracy Series with Shane Dawson.[15] In 2017, he released his first docu-series on YouTube, in which he reconciled with his absent father. From 2019 to 2020, he created and appeared in the docu-series The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star, which garnered over 130 million views.[16] His most viewed docu-series are about Jeffree Star, Jake Paul, and Tana Mongeau.[19]
Dawson has released two New York Times best-selling books, I Hate Myselfie (2015) and It Gets Worse (2016), and his three YouTube channels have collectively accumulated over 4.5 billion views.[23] Since 2017, he has updated only his main channel, which has over 20 million subscribers and over 4 billion views.[26] In June 2020, YouTube indefinitely suspended monetization on all three of his channels and his books were pulled from shelves following a public backlash over numerous controversial comments he had made in the past, particularly regarding underage girls and zoophilia.[27][28] He took a hiatus and returned to YouTube on October 7, 2021.
Early life
Shane Lee Yaw was born in Long Beach, California, on July 19, 1988. He has two older brothers named Jacob (b. 1980) and Jerid (b. 1985), and the three grew up in a low-income household headed by their single mother, Teresa.[29][30] He was educated in Lakewood, California, graduating from Lakewood High School in 2006. He was bullied for his weight in school, and his brothers helped him during these times; he later lost 150 pounds (68 kg). He first became interested in making videos when he would hand in videos for school projects with his friends.
Personal life
Dawson began dating YouTuber Lisa Schwartz in December 2011.[70] He came out as bisexual in July 2015 and confirmed that he had separated from Schwartz.[71] He began dating YouTuber Ryland Adams in 2016, and they became engaged on March 19, 2019.[72] Having previously lived in Calabasas, California, he moved in August 2021 to Colorado, where he and Adams purchased a farm for $2.2 million.[73][74][75]
On January 3, 2023, Dawson and Adams married in Colorado.[76] In July of the same year, they announced via Adams's vlog channel that they were expecting twin babies via surrogacy.[77] On December 10, 2023, Dawson announced the birth of their twin sons.[78]
Dawson has discussed his experiences with body dysmorphic disorder.[79]
Controversies
Dawson has been criticized for his racial comedy, particularly his use of blackface in several skits impersonating Wendy Williams and Chris Brown, his use of the words "nigga" and "nigger" in multiple videos, and his jokes about "ghetto pranks" at the 2012 VidCon. These past performances, and their reliance on caricatures of people of color and other minorities, led to allegations of racism.[34] In September 2014, YouTuber Franchesca Ramsey and other bloggers criticized Dawson for his past actions. He later apologized for the jokes in a video, stating that he viewed the controversy as a "learning experience".[80][81][82]
In 2018, Dawson was the subject of a controversy regarding comments he had made about pedophilia on a 2013 episode of his podcast Shane and Friends, after which he published an apology video likening his comedic style at the time to that of shock jocks. The same comments were also the subject of a controversy in March 2019, coupled with more controversy regarding comments he had made on a 2015 episode of the same podcast about engaging in sexual activity with his cat.[83]
On June 26, 2020, Dawson responded to criticism of his racial comedy by posting a 20-minute video in which he addressed renewed criticism for his use of blackface, the words "nigga" and "nigger", and other offensive comments he made since launching his YouTube channel. Although he had apologized publicly before, Dawson claimed he had only recently realized how "those apologies suck" and that he did not "know who that person is anymore". He further remarked how he "should have been punished for things" and how "finally just [owning] up to all of this and [being] accountable is worth losing everything" to him. Dawson also apologized to James Charles, whom he had described as "egocentric" and "power hungry" just a week before. He concluded his apology video by vowing to better his "actions", but said he understands if people do not want to accept his apology or no longer support him.[84] He also claimed that he dealt with the pain from his childhood by making inappropriate jokes: "It is something I did for shock value or because I thought it was funny. It's all gross and I promise that that is not real; that is not me."[85] Hours after his apology was posted, musician Jaden Smith accused Dawson of sexualizing his sister Willow Smith, expressing how he was "disgusted" after an old video resurfaced of Dawson pretending to masturbate while looking at a poster of Willow, who was 11 years old at the time. Jaden and Willow's mother Jada Pinkett Smith also told Dawson that she was "done with the excuses".[85][86]
On June 29, 2020, Target announced that it was "in the process of removing" Dawson's two published books I Hate Myselfie and It Gets Worse from its shelves.[87] On June 30, YouTube indefinitely suspended monetization on all three of Dawson's channels.[27][28]