Fame is challenging, not only because famous people have to control their emotions and maintain a public persona, but also because they have the added pressure of being role models.
Many people admire them and follow their actions, so famous individuals feel a responsibility to set a good example, which can be emotionally demanding and isolating.
And Marques Brownlee, better known as MKBHD, just caught himself in yet another controversy following the release of his video, titled “How My Video Gear is Changing!” on his YouTube channel.
The video was quickly met with backlash for obvious reasons, and MKBHD edited the video to remove the section that the public condemns.
He also addressed the criticisms with a formal apology.
First of, the video is fully sponsored by DJI, a well-known manufacturer of commercial drones for aerial photography and videography.
This effectively makes the video an advertisement rather than an editorially independent review.
A lot of people are annoyed because of MKBHD's lack of transparency regarding videos that are sponsored, in which he rarely disclosed.
Typically, whenever MKBHD has sponsors, they only get a small portion of the video, not an entire video, and those sponsors are typically very rare.
And this DJI commercial is 10 minutes long, and a lot of people are displeased.
Second, the video contained a clip of Brownlee driving way over the speed limit on a suburban road.
Sitting on the driver's seat of a Lamborghini Revuelto, Brownlee literally floored the mid-engine plug-in hybrid supercar that has 1,015 horsepower, past a sign on the road that warns drivers to slow down for children.
Brownlee drove way faster than the 35 miles per hour zone.
Brownlee didn't even blur the speedometer, as if it was really his intention to show that he is speeding.
Brownlee made an pinned his own comment on the video, and also created a post on X to say that the clip is "a terrible example to set and I'm sorry for it."
I've since cut it out of the video with YouTube's editor tool. I also understand that this looks like covering it up, but I think it's the right thing to do.
There's no reason to leave that clip in (there was no reason to include it in the first place) and I would never want to make it seem ok by leaving it in the video. I'm well aware of the Streisand effect, and I know everything on the internet lives forever, but I think that's the best decision right now.
All I can do apologize and promise never to do anything close to that stupid again. That's a terrible example to set and I'm sorry for it.
Last video I did something pretty stupid. You might've already seen it, but maybe not so I'll address it here. There was a clip with the action cam of me test driving a car and going way to fast. Absolutely inexcusable and dangerous.
I've since cut it out of the video with…— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) November 12, 2024
He said that he edited out the clip that depicts him speeding, because it's not supposed to be included there in the first place.
This is the second loudest backlash against the YouTuber this 2024.
In September, he faced criticism for releasing a pricey wallpaper app. In response, he made updates that seemed to address some of the main complaints.
As a prominent figure in tech journalism, Brownlee has been branching out beyond his usual YouTube content, exploring new ventures in businesses.
He has also collaborated on Atoms shoes and has also joined the board at wallet maker Ridge.