Apologizing for prank videos: How one YouTuber is addressing their past
The concept of “prank videos” has long been a popular thing on the YouTube platform. Some YouTubers have dedicated their entire online presence to the creation of such content and have made a phenomenal amount of money doing so. This particular genre of YouTube channels garnered much popularity in the early 2000s and hasn’t really relented since.
Buzzfeed News has been hosting a conversation recently that centers around the notion of consent in these types of videos. This discussion prompted wildly popular YouTuber Kevin Nalty to throw his hat in the ring and join the conversation. Nalty shared with Buzzfeed News that recent events have caused him to reflect on his previous YouTube activity and the man has regrets.
While his YouTube channel is indeed still active, he also now works as a VP of strategy for a digital healthcare agency. He became famous on YouTube back in 2007 for pulling pranks on those around him. Here is everything we know about Kevin Nalty’s self-reflection.
Who is Kevin Nalty?
When Kevin Nalty broke into the YouTube scene his channel was ranked in the top twenty most viewed comedy channels. Currently ranked as one of YouTube’s most subscribed users, Nalty has more than 1000 videos that have more than 297 million views.
He makes videos that depict people farting in public, pranks his kids and his wife, and orchestrates all kinds of scenarios that show people being caught unawares. It’s far from high-brow comedy but his success is so great that he has attracted sponsorships from companies like Fox Broadcasting, Mentos, Logitech, Microsoft, MTV, The Crowne Plaza & the Holiday Inn Express.
Nalty has authored the book Beyond Viral: How to Attract Customers, Promote Your Brand, and Make Money with Online Video and now speaks at marketing conferences & events. Additionally, he has made many high-profile media appearances including major network appearances on CNN, ABC, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS News, BBC, and Fox News.
Nalty’s reflections
This week Kevin Nalty shared his thoughts with Buzzfeed News about the notion of consent regarding the subjects of his videos. He confessed that he has even taken videos down or made them private as he navigated this issue over recent years.
“My pranks usually feature me as the idiot and other people perplexed by my antics. I don’t like the kind that are cruel or deceptive, and my favorite part is letting the ‘prank victim’ in on the joke and seeing their relief and laughter,” Nalty told Buzzfeed News
Nalty has, however, featured his children and his wife in some of his more popular prank videos. One such video where Nalty used his family for content for his channel has been viewed over 2.2 million times. According to Nalty, when he filmed “8 Household Pranks!” he tried to be mindful of whether the pranks were appropriate or not.
“I always struggled with the line not to cross but sometimes got into a gray area where I felt like it wasn’t right,” he said. “The ‘rules’ seem somewhat intuitive now, but in . . . 2006–2007 it was like the early days of TV or radio,” said Nalty.
He once put a frog under his wife’s bed and filmed her reaction. The video was such a viral success that it was picked up by MTV and licensed for their show Pranked. As Nalty reflects on that incident, he says that despite the fact that they had been happy about the success of the clip, he felt bad and now considers scaring someone the way he scared his wife to be “mean” behavior.
In his discussion with Buzzfeed News, Nalty also reflected on an incident that caused him to change the public’s access to the footage. He once pranked an individual by enlisting the help of a friend to pretend to be a hitchhiker who had just been released from prison. The individual being pranked later shared with Nalty that they were embarrassed by the way they were depicted in his clip. As a result, Nalty removed the video.
Kevin Nalty remains pensive about his conduct on his YouTube channel.
“Done well, you’re giving the victim a fun story to share. Done poorly, someone gets hurt and there’s no amount of views that justifies it. As I said before, sometimes I step on a toe, and I try to make it right.” said Nalty.
