Shane Dawson Wiki, Biography, Age, Spouse, Height, Net Worth, Fast Facts

In 2008, at age 19, Dawson began making videos on YouTube and garnered over half a billion views by 2010. Most of his early work consisted of sketch comedy videos, where 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.

During this time, Dawson also had a short-lived music career, releasing six original songs such as “Superluv!” and numerous parodies of popular music videos. In 2013, he launched his podcast, Shane and Friends, which ran for four years and produced 140 episodes. The following year, Dawson released his first and only feature film, Not Cool, and appeared on an accompanying 10 episode docu-series The Chair. He has also appeared in the films Smiley (2012) and Internet Famous (2016).

In 2015, Dawson began his show on YouTube about conspiracy theories, which includes his 2019 web series Conspiracy Series with Shane Dawson. In late 2017, he released his first docu-series on YouTube, in which he reconciled with his absent father. From 2019 to 2020, Dawson created and appeared in The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star, a docu-series that follows the life of Jeffree Star, which garnered over 130 million views. His most viewed docu-series are about Jake Paul, Jeffree Star, and TanaCon.

As of 2018, 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 accumulated over 4.5 billion views. Since 2017, he maintains one active channel, shane, with 20 million subscribers and over 4 billion views. On June 30, 2020, YouTube indefinitely suspended monetization on all three of Dawson’s channels following a public backlash over his past controversial comments. He returned to YouTube on October 7, 2021.

Early life

Dawson grew up in Long Beach, California, and he graduated from Lakewood High School in 2006. As a teenager, Dawson was bullied for his weight in school. He has two older brothers, Jacob Yaw (born 1980) and Jerid Yaw (born 1985). The siblings had a close relationship, and helped Dawson during these times. He has since lost 150 pounds (68 kg). He first became interested in making videos when he would turn in videos as school projects with his friends in high school. Dawson grew up in a low income household to a single mother, Teresa Yaw.

Personal life

Dawson formerly lived in Calabasas, California, and currently lives in Colorado since August 2021 with his fiancé, Ryland Adams. The two became engaged on March 19, 2019. Dawson has body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). In July 2015, Dawson came out as bisexual in a video posted on Shane Dawson TV. This announcement also confirmed his separation with his now ex-girlfriend, Lisa Schwartz.

Controversies

Dawson has been criticized for his racial comedy, particularly his use of blackface in several past skits, his use of the word nigga in multiple videos, and his jokes about “ghetto pranks” at VidCon in 2012. 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”. Many of his past performances relied on caricatures of people of color and other minorities, and he used blackface to portray Wendy Williams and Chris Brown in some skits, leading to allegations of racism.

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, in 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 March 2019 controversy, coupled with controversy regarding comments he had made on a 2015 episode of the same podcast about engaging in sexual activity with his cat.

On June 26, 2020, Dawson responded to criticism of his racial comedy by posting a 20-minute video, titled “Taking Accountability”, addressing renewed criticism for his use of blackface, the word nigga, 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”, stating “I don’t know who that person is anymore”, and further remarking how he “should have been punished for things” and to “finally just own up to all of this and be accountable is worth losing everything to me”. Dawson also apologized to James Charles, whom he had described as “egocentric” and “power hungry” just a week before. Dawson 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. 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”. 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 touch himself in a sexual manner while looking at a poster of a then 11-year-old Willow Smith. Jaden and Willow’s mother Jada Pinkett Smith also responded, tweeting “To Shane Dawson … I’m done with the excuses.”

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. On June 30, YouTube indefinitely suspended monetization on all three of Dawson’s channels.