YouTuber Liza Koshy shared a lengthy apology on Instagram after she was accused of being racist for imitating an Asian accent, and making up Japanese words in videos four years ago, perPeople. "What I once thought of as 'innocent jokes' were actually tainted with implicit bias, and what might have been intended as 'playful' was actually to some, incredibly painful," Koshy wrote. "And for that, I am sorry."
"Being anti-racist requires a personal reckoning, and I can't in good faith continue to use my platform for progress without taking accountability myself," she added. "I am taking inventory, taking initiative and taking note that my impact and influence will weigh greater than my intention."
Koshy's apology comes after TikTok user callmesukiwi posted a clip earlier this month of her and her ex-boyfriend and fellow YouTube star David Dobrik pretending to use Asian accents while trying candy from Japan and Hawaii. "It's not racist. That's like the sounds I hear when they talk," Dobrik said in the video, to which Koshy responded, "No, it's not racist as long as I keep saying no."
Another clip was included by callmesukiwi showing the former couple making up Japanese words as they ate snacks, asking, "They're trying Japanese candy and pretending to talk in Japanese as a joke. Isn't that still... racist?"
Deadline notes that Koshy's show, Liza on Demand, is the last remaining YouTube original scripted series following the departure of Cobra Kai to Netflix. She will star in the upcoming Alicia Keys-produced dance comedy Work It.
Dobrik has yet to issue a response.
