One of YouTube’s most iconic stars has returned from a year off.
Unlike his peers who have gone on hiatuses from the site for creative exhaustion, however, Kinglsey — the 2.9 million-subscriber vlogger comedian and pop culture critic whose given name is King Russell — said he took a break due to the stress and loneliness of being one of only a handful of black creators on the site during the height of his popularity.
Kingsley has been around for ten years on YouTube and told me that he initially went offline from Twitter around about one year ago — which was filled with police violence clips, race-inspiring rants, and shootings in broad daylight — as a desperate measure to keep himself sane. “I think where the state of the world stands right now and just the general divisive energy compelled me to make some real realizations about myself and in particular about my own experience on YouTube,” he said.
In a comeback clip shared last weekend, titled I’ve Been On YouTube For Ten Years And I’ve Been Low-Key Miserable (below), Kingsley says that during his ascendance on YouTube, most of the other stars at the time were white. Since he never quite felt like he belonged as being one of the lone gay, black creatives, Kingsley explains that he avoided going to industry functions and social parties — although he does give a shoutout to two women of color, Lilly Singh and Teala Dunn, for making him feel like he wasn’t completely alone back then.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-nfmFI_IYI
All that aside, Kinglsey reports that #YouTubeBlack — a corporate effort that seeks to amplify the voices of creators of color through star-studded creator summits, panel discussions, and more — “changed my life,” allowing him to establish new relationships and reignite his inspiration.
YouTube initiated #YouTubeBlack in April 2016 with a Los Angeles summit that aimed to address racial disparities on the platform, with guests including Russell Simmons, Wanda Sykes, DeRay Mckesson, Nate Parker, and Mara Brock Akil. The program has since organized a number of FanFest events at Howard University, with performances by Tre Melvin, De’arra & Ken, and even Kingsley himself.
Ever since his return on Sunday, Kingsley has pushed forward with two additional videos: a storytime about relocating to Los Angeles, and another on sexuality. Other than that, the rest of his videos seem to have been erased, indicating a new beginning.
