Onision: A Decade of Youtube, Controversy and Young Girls

Youtube is becoming more well known for the figures of scandal it keeps churning out of the video machine.

Before James Charles, Trisha Paytas and other high profile YouTube celebrities who choose to live their lives mostly in front of the lens of a camera for the world to watch, there was a pale faced, mop-haired, awkward twenty-something who used the name Onision. Without question he was among the first wave of web-stars to come off the platform, having joined 2006.

By 2010, he was named by TubeFilter as one of “5 YouTubers On Their Way Up” alongside such platform icons like Shane Dawson, but by 2012 had been banned by VidCon for problematic statements, specifically about his ex-girlfriend who he claimed “Had sex with more than 20 people” thus was incapable of being raped. Justifiably, people complained.

In the years since, Onision, now in his mid-30’s, has accrued both wealth and a significant fanbase, boasting over 2 billion video views and as many subscribers across multiple channels who consume his content, featuring his daily life and those in it, under a revealing microscope. It sounds like the typical vlogger dream-come-true, I suppose. Turn on a camera, get famous, earn ridiculous sums of money and thus, you win the internet.

Except, Onision’s story took a very dark, disturbing turn. Dating back to his earliest days, Onision, also known as Gregory Jackson, began uploading more and more intimate and extreme content, some of which allegedly showcased him filming a young woman having a health crisis in the shower. Rather than seek help for the woman, splayed on the floor of the shower, he films and then he edits…

… And then he uploads.

In this era where everyone is bidding for fame, many YouTube celebrity hopefuls are notorious for faking breakups, pranks, pregnancies and illnesses for the views. In more radical cases, we’ve seen parents charged with child neglect for forcing their children to act or perform for subscribers and another famous Youtuber uploaded a video which showed a dead body, an apparent victim of suicide. The efforts to make a grab for views on monetized videos has become increasingly desperate, thus warranting a watch with a more critical eye. Staging events for videos has…