Entertainment
KSI Leaves Sidemen
KSI announced this week that he is leaving the Sidemen after 13 years. A spokesperson confirmed that the announcement was real, not a staged stunt for entertainment or a temporary promotional bit. Despite early fan speculation that it might be a stunt or part of a bit, the announcement was confirmed as real by multiple major news organizations. In a statement, KSI said that he would no longer produce Sidemen videos or appear in the group’s regular content. In the video he posted on YouTube, KSI called the announcement the hardest video he had ever made and said he had been considering the decision for months before he shared it publicly with his audience and the other members.
KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olatunji, was one of the original members of the Sidemen. Born in London in 1993 to British-Nigerian parents, he began uploading videos to YouTube in 2008, initially focusing on commentary for the FIFA game series. The name “KSI” comes from a Halo clan he was a member of. Olatunji met other Sidemen members (Joshua “Zerkaa” Bradley, Simon “Miniminter” Minter, Tobi “TBJZL” Brown, Vikram “Vikkstar123” Barn, Harry “Wroetoshaw” Lewis and Ethan “Behzinga” Payne) in school. The name “Sidemen” comes from a GTA Online group that all future Sidemen members were in (except Wroetoshaw).
KSI dropped out of school around 2011 to focus on YouTube content full-time. He appeared in most of the group’s high-profile videos since Sidemen officially formed in 2013, helping the collective become one of the most prominent YouTube groups in the UK. The Sidemen’s group channel has more than 23 million YouTube subscribers and was reportedly the fastest YouTube channel to reach one million subscribers. Individual member channels and social media pages also have subscribers and followers in the millions.
KSI’s career has included multiple controversial incidents. He was accused of sexual harassment of female staff at a Eurogamer event in 2012, was dropped by Microsoft and was banned from future Eurogamer events. In March 2021, he apologized for using transphobic slurs in past videos, stating he did not know the word was offensive. In April 2023, he apologized for using a racial slur and took a break from social media.
KSI works across multiple fields beyond Sidemen videos and merchandise. He has fought as a professional boxer and appeared in films and on television. He has served as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, starting as a guest judge in 2025 and becoming a full-time judge for series 19. He has released multiple charting albums. His business ventures include Prime Hydration with Logan Paul, launched in 2022, and Lunchly, a lunch-kit brand founded with MrBeast and Logan Paul in 2024.
The Sidemen posted a statement on Instagram saying they were sad to share the news and that KSI had decided not to continue as part of the group. They did not mention a replacement or a revised lineup at the time of the announcement. KSI said the decision was not the result of a conflict with the other members and that he still views them as “friends for life”, but later reports indicated that some of the remaining members were upset about the exit and the timing of the announcement. When asked about the departure, Sidemen member Miniminter confirmed the news during a livestream, but did not elaborate further. Regarding his decision, KSI explained that his work in music, boxing, television appearances, and business ventures had become too demanding to sustain alongside regular Sidemen content and the group’s scheduled production cycle.
Fans reacted on social media with disbelief and confusion, and many posts framed the announcement as a joke or a temporary stunt before the news was confirmed. KSI responded to the reaction by saying he is not leaving YouTube and that he will continue to create content outside the Sidemen, which suggests he is shifting his focus rather than abandoning the platform or the public eye. The Sidemen have not announced how they will adjust their content without KSI or his creative input.
KSI’s departure ends a long period in which he functioned as one of the most visible members of the group He will continue his work in music, sports, television, and business outside of the collective. The announcement does not indicate that the relationship between KSI and the other members has ended or that future collaborations will be impossible. CNN reported that the group remains active with the six remaining members.
The Sidemen Charity Match and other group projects have not been canceled, and the group has not said whether KSI will appear in any future events as a guest or special participant. The announcement on May 31 serves as the official end of his regular participation, and no further video or statement has been released to change that position.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced the launch of an official recurring livestream, the first recurring official livestream launched by a New York City mayor. The show was simultaneously broadcast across Twitch, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, X, Bluesky and podcasting platforms, including Spotify and iHeartRadio. The official NYC mayoral X account posted a teaser for the show, with a photo of Mamdani at his desk, alongside a photo of former U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt speaking at one of his famous fireside chats. In the post, Mamdani is sitting in front of microphones with stickers of the logos of social media and podcast platforms, an homage to FDR’s photo, where his desk has microphones from news outlets CBS, NBC and MBS (America’s first commercial radio network).
The title of the show is also an homage to former New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. The show was workshopped for a month by the mayor’s team, according to an anonymous senior mayoral staffer who spoke with Daniel Arkin and Allan Smith for NBC News. The inaugural broadcast took place yesterday, May 21st.
Mamdani’s show intentionally harkens back to the radio shows of two famous American populist and progressive politicians, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Fiorello LaGuardia, who were also New Yorkers. The title of the mayor’s livestreaming series was inspired by a 1940s radio show hosted by former Mayor LaGuardia. The weekend broadcast was called “Talk to the People”, and ran from 1942 to 1945, the end of LaGuardia’s term. According to the press release from the mayor’s office, LaGuardia “using the most cutting-edge technology of his era to break through traditional gatekeepers and connect with working people across the city.”
Building on a campaign that used social media as a major part of how it reached voters, Mamdani has carried that digital-first approach into his official mayoral communications. His campaign leaned heavily on short videos, jokes for the social media generation, and endorsements from podcasters. Both the Democratic primary and general election were shaped by a constant online presence. Now the mayor’s office is using a similar playbook for public-facing programs like “Talk to the People.”
Some have claimed that Mamdani is the first American elected official to launch a recurring chat show or stream, although Mamdani’s progressive New York City ally Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been on Twitch for years. AOC has used the platform a number of times, including to campaign for former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders . Former President Obama’s use of platforms like Facebook in his 2008 presidential campaign, is often credited with helping him achieve his victory against John McCain in the election. The 2016 presidential campaign was also notable for its use of social media, with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign content on Vine, and then-Republican nominee Donald Trump’s heavy use of Twitter. President Trump, now back on X, later shifted much of his online activity to Truth Social after being banned from Twitter.
During the broadcast, which ran for roughly half an hour, Mamdani began the broadcast with an ode to Mayor LaGuardia, followed by information about the 2026 World Cup, specifically about a lottery for World Cup games played in MetLife Stadium, just outside of New York City. Much like the shows of LaGuardia and FDR that Mamdani hoped to emulate, the mayor took questions from New York City residents, discussing issues related to the cost of living, housing, childcare, infrastructure, and city policy. Major policies highlighted included the recent pilot program for universal free childcare that Mamdani announced with New York Governor Kathy Hochul in March and the mayor’s tax on non-residents who own second homes worth more than $5 million. During the broadcast, Mamdani proposed further taxing ultra-wealthy New Yorkers through a 2% income tax hike on income of more than $1 million a year, to help fully fund the universal childcare initiative.
Mamdani was then interviewed by local social media personality, activist and restaurateur MooseNYC. During this interview, Mamdani admitted that he didn’t know what the game Minecraft was. The broadcast had some hiccups, with users reportedly complaining of the lack of moderation on Twitch, where commenters spammed explicit messages. Over 10,000 people tuned into the initial livestream. No schedule has been given for future broadcasts.
Former Beast Industries employee Lorrayne Mavromatis, who worked at MrBeast’s (Jimmy Donaldson) entertainment company from 2022 to 2025, filed a civil lawsuit in US federal court in North Carolina, headquarters of Beast Industries. In her lawsuit Mavromatis is seeking damages from the organization for alleged sexual harassment, gender-discrimination, workplace violations and wrongful termination. Mavromatis says she was fired after returning from maternity leave. She also alleges that she was demoted before being fired. Beast Industries has denied the claims of the lawsuit, calling them “categorically false”.
This is not Beast Industries’ first controversy with former employees and associates, as the organization (and MrBeast himself) previously cut ties with an original cast member after she was accused of grooming a minor (an investigation by an independent law firm later found no evidence of misconduct, according to the New York Times). MrBeast has also been accused of fostering a hostile work environment, going as far back as 2018, according to multiple reports. In two separate instances, two former video editors accused him of having a toxic workplace. Additionally, five former contestants on MrBeast and Amazon Prime’s reality competition show Beast Games sued, alleging a variety of different forms of mistreatment, including sexual harassment. That lawsuit is still ongoing.
In Mavromatis’ lawsuit, she alleges a pattern of discriminatory culture at Beast Industries. Mavromatis spoke with Vulture about her experience at the company and her lawsuit. Beast Industries denies the claims of the lawsuit. A representative from Beast Industries told BBC Newsbeat that the claims by Mavromatis were “categorically false” and described the lawsuit as a “clout-chasing complaint”. Donaldson himself has declined to comment on the lawsuit at present.
Mavromatis, an influencer, said that she moved to Greenville, North Carolina with her husband, and was hired as Head of Instagram at Beast Industries. In her first year, she was promoted twice, making her the only woman executive in the company. According to Vulture, the allegations of a toxic environment date back to the company’s original employee handbook, and also being “excluded from otherwise all-male meetings, demeaned in front of colleagues, harassed”, in addition to what Mavromatis claims were retaliations (including being demoted and then fired) for complaints about such behavior. According to Fast Company, a Beast Industries representative said that it has messages, documents, and witness testimony contradicting her claims
In the lawsuit, Mavromatis charges that sexual harassment of female employees was “both condoned and/or perpetuated by their supervisors”, citing personal examples including claims that Beast Industries then-CEO, James Warren (also MrBeast’s cousin), told her that she was “a beautiful woman and her appearance had a certain sexual effect on Jimmy”, and also makes multiple claims about “strange” behavior by Donaldson himself, and additional inappropriate behavior by Warren in one-on-one meetings.
In 2023, because of allegations of a producer making “unwelcome comments about their appearance and close touching”, Mavromatis complained to Donaldson’s mother, then-head of Human Resources Sue Parisher. According to the lawsuit, a company-commissioned investigation found the claims ‘unsubstantiated,’ which Mavromatis disputes.
The lawsuit alleges that afterwards, Mavromatis was demoted to social media manager for merchandise at Beast Industries. In 2025, after finding out she was pregnant, Mavromatis also claims that her employment rights were violated when she asked for maternity leave, a claim that Beast Industries denies. The company responded with her signature on an employee handbook that they said included parental-leave policies. Additionally, Mavromatis says that her mother filmed her joining a work call from her hospital bed while she was in labor, and that she was informally working again just three weeks after giving birth, including a difficult trip to her home country, Brazil. Beast Industries says that Mavromatis “volunteered” for the work trip. Finally, she also claimed that she was fired just three weeks after fully returning to work, and alleges mental health issues including depression and some suicidal thoughts.
Mavromatis told Vulture that fans of MrBeast “are only seeing what Jimmy wants to be shown, and that’s just this amazing philanthropic guy that cares about people and just has this big heart. But the people that are there helping him be who he is today, working countless hours in the back, they’re not taken care of.” This is one of multiple allegations of a hostile work environment and inappropriate acts by staff and cast members working with MrBeast. It is also another all-too common claim related to misconduct and mistreatment in the “creator economy”.
Beast Industries, in addition to denying her claims, told the BBC that the company “had ‘extensive’ evidence including messages, documents and witness testimony that ‘unequivocally refutes’ Mavromantis’ claims.’ A representative later added: “We will not submit to opportunistic lawyers looking to manufacture a payday from us.” According to Deadline, lawyers for Beast Industries are seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed.
Dutch influencer Joann van den Herik went viral this week after she called Coachella the “influencer Olympics” on TikTok, describing her experience of the festival as one less about the music and more about creators fighting to get the best angles while staring at their phones. She is not wrong. One week into the 25th anniversary edition of Coachella and it’s clear that the creator economy ran the whole thing. Here’s what happened and what to expect this weekend.
The most significant creator moment of the weekend belonged to Addison Rae, who played the main Coachella Stage on Saturday evening in what was her first full-length solo set at the festival. Rae, who started as a TikTok creator before pivoting to music, performed ahead of headliner Justin Bieber and delivered what she called “The Fame and Glory Show,” a reworked version of her recent tour. The set opened with “Diet Pepsi” and built toward a standout “Aquamarine” performance alongside Maddie Ziegler. Rae took a moment to address years of skepticism about her transition from social media to pop music, telling the crowd that her supporters should know she loves them, and insulting her detractors. She returns for weekend two on April 18.
One of Coachella’s most significant events from the first week of 2026 was Justin Bieber’s contentious, YouTube-themed performance. With a laptop, a microphone, and the occasional guitarist, Bieber spent part of his set projecting his own videos onto a big screen and singing along-side them. Bieber’s stripped-down show was him having fun with his own viral moments and concerns for his well-being after some publicized antics, tour cancellations and health concerns. Leaked footage of rehearsals for Bieber’s performance caused resold ticket prices for Coachella to spike, with prices peaking at $4,000 for tickets that originally cost $650, as Bieber is scheduled to perform again this Saturday.
Meanwhile, high profile Twitch streamer Lacy (Nick Fosco) brought his camera to Coachella over the weekend. The 23-year-old, who is ranked among Twitch’s top 15 streamers in 2026, has been on a collision course with live event restrictions for weeks. In late March, Lacy and fellow streamer Sketch were ejected from a courtside seat at the NCAA March Madness Elite Eight game between Iowa and Illinois after security caught them livestreaming the game, which violates the NCAA’s broadcast rights agreements. The tension between streamers who want to broadcast everything and rights holders who have paid billions for exclusivity is becoming one of the defining conflicts in live entertainment. At Coachella, where YouTube holds the official livestream rights across seven stages, that tension is even more pronounced. Creators attending the festival can post clips and vlogs, but live broadcasting of performances runs into legal territory fast, and the festival is known for being stringent with limiting unofficial live-streamed and clipped videos.
Off the stage, the influencer economy was operating at full capacity. Content creator Sam Mintesnot documented her attempt to get into the festival without a ticket, posting across her platforms in hopes of scoring a brand invitation. It worked. YouTube invited her two days before the festival started. That kind of hustle is now a recognized pathway into Coachella for creators who do not have the budget for passes that start at $820 for a single day on resale. In another example, Sydney Morgan, a creator known for special effects makeup, bought her own ticket and traveled to Indio with a group of fellow creators, renting an Airbnb selected specifically for how it would look on camera and built a filming itinerary around the group’s content schedules. They arrived a full day before the music started so they could shoot.
YouTube leaned hard into the creator angle this year. The platform’s “Watch With” feature returned, letting creators provide live commentary and reactions alongside the official Coachella livestream from their own channels. The company also hosted creators at its Backstage Studio on the festival grounds, where influencers like Alix Earle were photographed. Earle, who launched her skin care brand Reale Actives just weeks before the festival, attended multiple brand events and posted outfit content that went viral almost immediately.
The brand activation circuit surrounding Coachella has become its own festival, with brands like Kourtney Kardashian Barker’s Poosh, Neutrogena, TikTok Shop and many other marketplaces and companies hosting events. Reports also surfaced of brands rescinding influencer invitations at the last minute, and multiple creators said their Airbnb bookings were canceled by hosts looking to rebook at higher prices during festival weekend.
Weekend two begins April 17, with the same lineup running a second time. Addison Rae will perform again. The creators will return with fresh outfits and new content plans. And somewhere in the crowd, someone will be livestreaming something they probably should not be.
