Shane Dawson
Shane Lee Yaw (born July 19, 1988), known professionally as Shane Dawson, is an American YouTuber, author, sketch comedian, actor, director, media personality and musician. He was one of the first people to become famous on YouTube, and since kept an online presence.[4]
Shane Dawson | ||||
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Personal information | ||||
Born | Shane Lee Yaw July 19, 1988 Long Beach, California, U.S. | |||
Education | Lakewood High School | |||
Occupations |
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Partner(s) | Lisa Schwartz (2011–2015) Ryland Adams (2016–present; engaged 2019)[1] | |||
YouTube information | ||||
Years active | 2008–present | |||
Subscribers | 19 million (April 2024) | |||
YouTube information | ||||
Channels | ||||
Years active | 2008-present[2] | |||
Genres | ||||
Subscribers |
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Total views |
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Last updated: May 30, 2020 |
Early Life
changeDawson was born in Long Beach, California, on July 19, 1988. He has two older brothers named Jacob (b. 1980) and Jerid (b. 1985), and the three grew up in a low-income household headed by their single mother, Teresa. He was educated in Lakewood, California, graduating from Lakewood High School in 2006. He was bullied for his weight in school; he later lost 150 pounds (68 kg) in adulthood. He first became interested in making videos when he would hand in videos for school projects with his friends.
Viral Sucess
change2008–2010: YouTube, ShaneDawsonTV
changeOn March 10, 2008, Dawson made his YouTube channel, called "ShaneDawsonTV". The earliest video that remains on the channel, "Kermit the Frog and Me" was uploaded about 4 months later. When he first began making videos, he worked at Jenny Craig along with his mother and brother, but was fired in August 2008 after he uploaded a video of himself pole dancing in the building he worked at and for showing before-and-after photos of clients, saying that "all these people gain their weight back."[5] The video also included clips of his co-workers reading inappropriate passages of a book by Jenny Craig spokesperson Valerie Bertinelli.[5] His mother, brother and about six other coworkers who appeared in the video also were fired after the company saw the video.[6] In September, he uploaded a video called "Fred is Dead!", which has since received over 25 million views.[7] During this time, Shane performed as a number of "drug-addled, often drunk, cultural stereotype characters" in his skits, including: "ghetto girl" Shanaynay, "Ned the Nerd", gangster "S-Deezy", "Barb the Lesbian", a football jock/bully (who is a closeted homosexual), the jock's insecure girlfriend (who thinks she is overweight), a "fashionably bulimic" high school girl (whose finger is her "best friend" to aid in self-induced vomiting), "Aunt Hilda" (portrayed with a thick "New York-Jewish" accent), gothic girls, "trans" characters, and "Guadalupe"/"Fruit Lupe" (a Mexican with stereotyped chola accent).[8]
Dawson would also, in skits where he was playing himself, portray either fictional or exaggerated versions of his own "relatives" and family members. One video sees Dawson pretending to be a high school student and the struggles of feigning "illness" to avoid attending school for a day. The same video sees him wearing a bright-red wig, red lipstick and matching red bathrobe to portray his "mother", an alcoholic, "Southern", lazy and semi-abusive character. When she forces Dawson to attend school, she sends him out the door by saying "Later, faggot!" Despite Dawson's own bisexuality and homosexual marriage, these instances of gay slurs drew some criticism at the time; his actual mother (who later appears in several videos) bears no comparison to this character. He also drew some criticism for portraying a pre-op transgender female character, who appeared in a skit about speed dating; the bulk of the character's appearances consisted of such lines as "I'm sick of this penis! Chop it off!" and explaining "and that's how they're going to turn my penis into a clitoris." At that point, Dawson (portraying himself) is seen turning to the side and vomiting, profusely.
Dawson occasionally posts new videos on his channel "ShaneDawsonTV" (mainly short web films, music video parodies, film trailer parodies, and original music) and formerly posted other videos on his second channel "ShaneDawsonTV2", now called "Human Emoji"; however, the use of this channel has mostly been discontinued as of 2012. His third and main YouTube channel, Shane, is where he previously posted vlogs, and now posts original content Mondays through Fridays. He began using this channel in May 2010. In November 2009, Dawson was featured on Attack of the Show!.[9] In 2010, Forbes magazine named him their 25th most famous web celebrity.[10]
2010–2013: Television pilots and music career
changeOn August 11, 2010, Dawson announced that he was making a 30-minute pilot called SD High. Previously, the funding he needed for the pilot was provided by digital media group Take180 after he helped them out with acting in their own videos.[11] The pilot is based on two videos which Dawson uploaded to his main channel in Summer 2010. The story centred around a teenage boy in school and his interactions with the other characters. The pilot's release date was set towards the end of September 2010 on his main YouTube Channel, however Dawson later announced that he had been contacted by a television studio to produce the pilot for their TV channel(s).[12]
According to Dawson, there is some uncertainty involving the pilot, however it may be a TV show in the future.[13] On March 26, 2011, Dawson uploaded a video to YouTube explaining to his audience that he was working with Happy Madison Productions, Sony Pictures, and some other YouTubers including TheFineBros and BrittaniLouiseTaylor to create the television show.[14] In January 2012, Dawson stated in a video that he was now working on a new television show, which would be semi-based on his life working at a Weight Loss centre. He stated that he would be pitching the show soon, and that he was "really excited" for it, and stated the show was "kind of like Arrested Development, but – not."[15] On May 16, 2012, Dawson revealed in a vlog that he was working on a comedy-horror film, explaining that he wanted to write "something like a teen comedy", however that the film would be "scary and fun". Dawson revealed in November 2012 that he was in negotiations to direct a feature-length film.[16] In 2012, Dawson revealed in a vlog that he was working on a music project. In March 2012, Dawson revealed that his debut mainstream single, "Superluv!" would be released that month. The song was released on March 31, 2012, on iTunes, with an accompanying music video debuting on his YouTube channel on the same day. The song managed to chart at 87 in Ireland, 16 on the UK Indie Chart, 163 on the UK Singles Chart and reached the 28th spot on the US iTunes Pop Chart.
On May 8, 2012, Dawson revealed in a video that he has begun working on his next original song, which is tentatively titled "The Vacation Song". He previewed about 10 seconds of the "rough edit" of the song, and stated that he was going to change the mood of the song, saying, "Right now, it's a little too happy, because it's a breakup song. I want it to be more like Kelly Clarkson's 'Since U Been Gone'." He stated that the song would "hopefully" be released by the beginning of June 2012.[17] The song was released on June 23, 2012, with the music video being released a week later. In October 2012, a film called Smiley was released to theatres starring Dawson. In December, Dawson released a new single entitled "Maybe This Christmas". On February 5, 2013, Dawson recorded a single titled "F**K Up".[18] The song was released on YouTube and iTunes on March 30, 2013.[19] On October 18, 2013, Dawson released a song entitled "Wanna Make Love To You", with Liam Horne.[20] Dawson does not actually provide vocals to the song, but iTunes credits him as one of the artists.
2013–2016: Shane and Friends, The Chair, and books
changeIn June 2013, Dawson started a podcast entitled Shane and Friends. As of 2013, Dawson revealed that he was pitching a talk show and was continuing to pitch the series about him working at a weight loss centre. On November 12, 2013, Dawson announced that he was developing the weight loss centre project with Sony Pictures Television for NBC. The project has been titled Losin' It and, if picked up, would be a half-hour single-camera comedy series focusing on a successful former-client at a weight loss centre who decides to share his inspiration by becoming a consultant at the centre, and subsequently becomes the manager by the end of his first day. Darlene Hunt, Will Gluck, Richie Schwartz, Lauren Schnipper, and Dawson would serve as executive producers for the project.[21]
On April 4, 2014, Dawson announced that he had directed and starred in a comedy film in Pittsburgh earlier that year. The film, which was made on a $800,000 budget,[22] was released September 19, 2014.[23] On June 26, he announced that the film would be titled Not Cool.[24] It was part of a Starz original series called The Chair, in which two novice directors are given the same script and must each make their own film from it. People who watched both films then voted online to vote for the films. Not Cool competed against Anna Martemucci's Holidaysburg. Zachary Quinto, producer of The Chair, called Dawson's film "deeply offensive" and "tasteless", and that Dawson should not be making films at all, removing his name from the film in disgust. Dawson defended his film by saying that "I like the movie. The producers that I trust like the movie. The test audience liked the movie. I know I deserve to make a movie because I've been working my f***ing ass off these last eight years on YouTube."[25] Dawson won the competition, winning the $250,000 prize to work on another film project.[26]
In December 2014, Dawson released a parody of Taylor Swift's song "Blank Space" on YouTube. This video was found to be in poor taste by her labels, Big Machine Records and Sony, who removed it,[27] citing "copyright infringement". Dawson subsequently claimed that the parody was removed because Sony objected to the video's violent content. The video was restored in February 2015.
In early 2015, Dawson released a memoir titled I Hate Myselfie: A Collection of Essays. The memoir was released by Atria Books/Keywords Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.[28]
In July 2016, Dawson released another memoir entitled It Gets Worse: A Collection of Essays. It was released by Atria/Keywords Press.[29][30]
2017–2020: YouTube series
changeIn June 2018, Shane uploaded a three-part documentary series titled The Truth About TanaCon, about the TanaCon convention,[31] the company who organized the event—Good Times, ran by talent manager Michael Weist[32]—and the effects the disastrous event had on fans.[33] The series received tens of millions of views in one week and garnered significant media attention.[34] In August 2018, Shane continued the documentary format and covered makeup artist Jeffree Star in a five-part series titled The Secret World of Jeffree Star and also received high amounts of media attention[35] Dawson interviews and experiences a day in the life with Internet celebrity, makeup artist, model, entrepreneur, and singer-songwriter Jeffree Star, learning about his business Jeffree Star Cosmetics.[source?] In September 2018, Shane covered YouTuber Jake Paul in an eight-part series titled The Mind of Jake Paul. The series follows Dawson's investigation on the lifestyle of Paul, including research with licensed therapist Katie Morton on antisocial personality disorder. Later in the series, Dawson is invited into the Team 10 house, and interviews Jake about his controversial career.[source?] Dawson was criticized for his documentaries The Mind of Jake Paul and The Secret World of Jeffree Star, with some arguing that Dawson was too sympathetic towards the racism scandals of both subjects.[36]
In January and February 2019, Shane released a two-part series on conspiracy theories titled Conspiracy Series with Shane Dawson. The first part included theories on the Apple FaceTime glitch, deepfakes, subliminal messages in cartoons, Hollister, Walt Disney, the Woolsey Fire and Camp Fire.[37] The second part featured Dawson investigating further topics, exploring the wider message "don't believe everything you see", including Adobe Voco voice manipulation, and Chuck E. Cheese pizzas.[38] Dawson has been criticized for his conspiracy theory content, as some feel that his videos about the flat Earth, Moon landing hoax, and 9/11 hoax conspiracy theories, among others, contribute to YouTube's widespread issues with misinformation.[39] In July 2019, Dawson returned to YouTube for a one-hour long documentary video titled The Return of Eugenia Cooney about Internet personality Eugenia Cooney. Earlier in the year, Cooney announced that she would be taking a break from social media to focus on her health.[40][41]
In October 2019, Dawson released The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star, which follows Dawson and Star as they plan and design a new makeup and merchandise collection called The Conspiracy Collection.[42][43]
Controversy
changeDawson has been criticized for his racial comedy, particularly his use of blackface in several skits impersonating Wendy Williams and Chris Brown, his use of the N word in multiple videos, and his jokes about "ghetto pranks" at the 2012 VidCon. These past performances, and their reliance on caricatures of people of colour and other minorities, led to allegations of racism. 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".
In 2018, Dawson was the subject of a controversy regarding comments he had made about paedophilia on a 2013 episode of his podcast Shane and Friends, after 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 controversy in March 2019, coupled with more 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 in which he addressed renewed criticism for his use of blackface, the words "nigga" and "nigger", 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" and that he did not "know who that person is anymore". He further remarked how he "should have been punished for things" and how "finally just [owning] up to all of this and [being] accountable is worth losing everything" to him. Dawson also apologized to James Charles, whom he had described as "egocentric" and "power hungry" just a week before. He 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 masturbate while looking at a poster of Willow, who was 11 years old at the time. Jaden and Willow's mother Jada Pinkett Smith also told Dawson that she was "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.
Personal Life
changeDawson began dating YouTuber Lisa Schwartz in December 2011.[44] He came out as bisexual in July 2015 and confirmed that he had separated from Schwartz.[45] He began dating YouTuber Ryland Adams in 2016, and they became engaged on March 19, 2019.[46] Having previously lived in Calabasas, California, he moved in August 2021 to Colorado, where he and Adams purchased a farm for $2.2 million.[47][48][49]
On January 3, 2023, Dawson and Adams married in Colorado.[50] In July of the same year, they announced via Adams's vlog channel that they were expecting twin babies via surrogacy.[51] On December 10, 2023, Dawson announced the birth of their twin sons.[52]
Dawson has discussed his experiences with body dysmorphic disorder.[53]
References
change- ↑ "Shane Dawson on Instagram". October 23, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ↑ Dawson, Shane. "shane". YouTube. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ↑ "shane Monthly YouTube Statistics - Socialblade.com". socialblade.com. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
- ↑ "After Unlocking The Key To Longevity, Shane Dawson Is Helping Fellow YouTube OGs Do The Same - Tubefilter". June 27, 2018.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 From Fame To Shame – Shane Dawson's Story (Shane Yaw), August 28, 2020, archived from the original on November 13, 2021, retrieved October 14, 2021 (at 7:45).
- ↑ Ferguson, Wes (April 13, 2012). "Shane Dawson Reveals Downside to Internet Fame". celebuzz. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
- ↑ Shane Dawson TV (September 12, 2008). "FRED IS DEAD!". Archived from the original on October 6, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Dachille, Arielle (September 26, 2014). "I Don't Buy This Shane Dawson Apology". Bustle. Archived from the original on July 3, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
- ↑ Dalonzo, Michael (November 5, 2009). "Shane Dawson's Comedy Sketches on YouTube". Attack of the Show!. G4. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ↑ Ewalt, David M. (February 2, 2010). "The Web Celeb 25". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 20, 2010. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ↑ "WIZARDS OF SD HIGH?!". YouTube. Archived from the original on November 3, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
- ↑ Dawson, Shane (September 15, 2010). "Taylor Lautner In My Room?!". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ↑ stirfryTV (September 25, 2010). "SHANE DAWSON in the YouTube Spotlight". YouTube. Archived from the original on September 29, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ↑ ShaneDawsonTV (March 26, 2011). "Teens Gone Wild in "SD High"!". YouTube. Archived from the original on March 29, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ↑ "shane". YouTube. Archived from the original on September 3, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
- ↑ "SUPER SWEET 16 *SPOOF*!". YouTube. November 17, 2012. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
- ↑ "MY BREAK UP SONG! (Hang With Shane : Day 90)". YouTube. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
- ↑ "Is Bieber Going To Jail!?". YouTube. February 5, 2013. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
- ↑ ""F**K Up" Music Video By Shane Dawson". YouTube. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
- ↑ "Wanna Make Love To You – Single". iTunes. October 18, 2013. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
- ↑ Rose, Lacey (November 12, 2013). "YouTube's Shane Dawson, 'Big C' Creator Team for Weight-Loss Comedy at NBC". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
- ↑ Abele, Robert (September 19, 2014). "Review: 'Not Cool' by YouTube star Shane Dawson is a waste of time". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
- ↑ "I MADE A MOVIE!". YouTube. April 4, 2014. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
- ↑ "Shane Dawson on Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- ↑ Nemetz, Dave (November 6, 2014). "'The Chair' Exclusive: Shane Dawson Reacts to Zachary Quinto Dissing His Movie". Yahoo TV. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
- ↑ Spangler, Todd (November 9, 2014). "Shane Dawson Wins Starz 'The Chair' $250,000 Prize, But Not Everyone's Cool With It". Variety. Archived from the original on December 25, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
- ↑ "Shane Dawson Parody Pulled For Copyright Infringement? #shanedawsonsony". Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
- ↑ Spangler, Todd. "Shane Dawson Thinks Even People Who Hate His YouTube Videos Will Like His Book". Variety. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
- ↑ It Gets Worse: Book by Shane Dawson. Simon & Schuster. July 19, 2016. ISBN 9781501132841. Archived from the original on July 29, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
- ↑ "It Gets Worse by Shane Dawson". Simon & Schuster Publishing. Archived from the original on August 1, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
- ↑ Farokhmanesh, Megan (June 26, 2018). "YouTuber's anti-VidCon convention TanaCon was such a disaster that fans are comparing it to Fyre Fest". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- ↑ Alexander, Julia (June 28, 2018). "YouTuber Shane Dawson calls disastrous TanaCon the 'worst decision ever'". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- ↑ Miller, Liz Shannon (July 3, 2018). "'The Truth About Tanacon': Shane Dawson Takes a 'Making a Murderer'-Style Look at Some Epic YouTube Drama — Watch". IndieWire. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- ↑ "27 of the most shocking things we learnt about Jeffree Star from Shane Dawson's YouTube documentary". Cosmopolitan. August 2, 2018. Archived from the original on August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
- ↑ Hernandez, Patricia (October 19, 2018). "Jake Paul's Racism Controversy Reveals the Flaw in Shane Dawson's Docuseries". The Verge. Archived from the original on January 1, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- ↑ Lindsay, Kathryn. "These Are All The Crazy Conspiracies Shane Dawson Is Investigating In His New Series". Refinery29. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- ↑ "Shane Dawson releases highly-anticipated second episode of Conspiracy Series on YouTube". Dexerto. February 12, 2019. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- ↑ "YouTube Unleashed a Conspiracy Theory Boom. Can It Be Contained?". The New York Times. February 19, 2019. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- ↑ "Shane Dawson Returns to YouTube With Eugenia Cooney Documentary". Entertainment Tonight. July 19, 2019. Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- ↑ "YouTubers Eugenia Cooney and Shane Dawson make a joint comeback". The Daily Dot. July 20, 2019. Archived from the original on July 21, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- ↑ Contreras, Cydney (September 24, 2019). "Shane Dawson Reveals Mysterious New YouTube Series". E! Online. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ↑ Contreras, Cydney (October 29, 2019). "Shane Dawson & Jeffree Star Unveil the Entire Conspiracy Collection". E! Online. Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ↑ Roth, Madeline (July 8, 2015). "YouTube Star Shane Dawson Comes Out As Bisexual: 'I Am Open To Love'". MTV.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
- ↑ Vultaggio, Maria (July 7, 2015). "Shane Dawson Comes Out As Bisexual In YouTube Video, Thanks Twitter Fans For Support". International Business Times. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
- ↑ Weiss, Geoff (March 20, 2019). "YouTube Power Couple Shane Dawson And Ryland Adams Announce Engagement". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
- ↑ Smith, Katie Louise (August 27, 2021). "Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams have moved to Colorado". Pop Buzz. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ↑ "Instagram post by Shane Dawson • August 26, 2021". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021.
- ↑ "Instagram post by Shane Dawson • Oct 24, 2016 at 6:31am UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on April 17, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
- ↑ Hernandez, Angie Orellana (January 12, 2023). "YouTubers Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams Are Married". E! News.
- ↑ Walcott, Escher (July 8, 2023). "YouTubers Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams Expecting Twins via Surrogate". Peoplemag. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ↑ Walcott, Escher (December 11, 2023). "YouTuber Shane Dawson and Husband Ryland Adams Welcome Twin Sons via Surrogate: 'Unbelievably Grateful'". Peoplemag. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ↑ Nguyen, Mai Linh (October 4, 2014). "Shane Dawson Opens Up About Body Dysmorphia". whatstrending. Archived from the original on February 19, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
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