YouTube released its first annual Rewind in 2011, but its 2018 version became the platform's
most hated video of all time just days after its release.
Why were millions of people upset with the year-end recap?
Here are all the reasons why YouTube's 2018 Rewind bombed so hard.
"I'm almost glad that I’m not in it because it’s such a cringey video at this point."
PewDiePie, also known by his real name Felix Kjellberg, wasn't asked to take part in the
2018 YouTube Rewind, marking the second consecutive year the platform's most popular creator got
snubbed.
Pewds has seemingly been on the outs with YouTube since racist and anti-Semitic content
in his videos got mainstream attention in 2017.
Though Kjellberg has always insisted he was taken out of context in these reports, the
controversy still cost him in the eyes of corporate YouTube.
Kjellberg has remained a controversial figure, but he's also an influential one, and his
absence from Rewind 2018 angered millions of his fans.
Ohio-born super-bro Logan Paul was another high-profile YouTuber that didn't make 2018's
Rewind.
He and his equally divisive brother, Jake Paul, featured prominently in the 2017 edition
because of their much publicized rivalry.
But Logan has been in YouTube's doghouse ever since his notorious video in Japan's so-called
"suicide forest."
The incident cost him millions in ad revenue, and tarnished his reputation.
As a result, YouTube doesn't seem to want much to do with him, with the company declining
to acknowledge his hyped-up boxing match against KSI, which was viewed by millions of people.
Keemstar, creator of the DramaAlert channel, sized up the situation on Twitter, writing,
"The KSI vs Logan Paul boxing match was clearly the biggest YouTube event this year.
For Rewind not to have any reference of this is just wrong."
One of the most famous Fortnite players in the world is Tyler Blevins, aka Ninja, who
managed to stream more than 3800 hours of the game for his millions of fans in 2018.
He's been described as an ideal creator for digital advertisers.
Could this be why YouTube chose to feature him prominently in 2018's Rewind, despite
the fact that he's primarily a Twitch streamer?
According to fellow Fortnite player Lannan "LazarBeam" Eacott, Ninja's inclusion over
the likes of Lachlan Power, who flew for 15 hours to film for Rewind only to have his
part cut, was an insult to Youtube's creators.
As Eacott summed up in a Twitter post,
"You literally can't get more tone deaf."
Will Smith is famous for a lot of things, but being a YouTuber isn't one of them.
So when the 2018 Rewind inexplicably took place in the star's imagination, many people
cried foul.
Smith does have a YouTube channel, which was created in December 2017.
While he has more than 4 million subscribers, his foray into vlogging hasn't won everybody
over.
Some commentators have described the actor's videos as reaching for relevance a little
too transparently.
We'll give him this, though — his enthusiastic binocular moment makes for a pretty good meme
to close out the year with.
Will Smith isn't the only superstar trying to get in good with YouTube.
The platform has also become a battleground for late night talk show hosts pushing viral
content.
Many people feel like this well-funded corporate content goes against the spirit of the platform,
taking away attention from creators that are truly self-made.
2018's Rewind included appearances from The Daily Show's Trevor Noah and Last Week Tonight's
John Oliver, who have their own platforms on Comedy Central and HBO.
Making things more embarrassing is the fact that Noah and Oliver were roped into performing
— you guessed it — Fortnite dances.
It makes for a terrible Rewind, but it's pretty good for a cringe compilation.
Shane Dawson's absence from the YouTube 2018 Rewind video caused its fair share of anger,
with his documentaries on internet personalities producing what The Verge called "top-tier
online gossip".
Some people think that Dawson, whose real name is Shane Yaw, might have been locked
out for his content that explores the dark side of YouTube.
His most talked-about docu-series in 2018 was "The Mind of Jake Paul," in which he explores
the possibility that Paul is a sociopath.
The series goes on to suggest that YouTube might inherently attract people with mental
disorders.
The gossipy doc series was a hit, but hardly an advertisement for the YouTube platform.
The company wants to come off squeaky clean, not show its dark side.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe celebrated its tenth birthday in 2018, and it did so in style.
The saddest news was the death of Marvel Comics writer and figurehead Stan Lee.
Given how popular Marvel content is on YouTube, fans of the Spider-Man co-creator expected
his legacy to be acknowledged in some way, but it didn't happen.
The Rewind also failed to pay tribute to Stefan Karl, whose beloved Robbie Rotten character
lives forever in countless meme videos.
And it also snubbed Stephen Hillenburg, who created the endlessly remixed Spongebob Squarepants.
You can argue that the Rewind isn't the place for memorials, but if that's the case, then
it doesn't seem like the right place for Will Smith to show up either.
One common criticism of 2018's Rewind is the idea that it's less of a celebration of YouTube's
creators and more just one big advertisement for YouTube itself.
Part of that feeling came from the high number of showbiz-friendly YouTubers that ended up
in the year-end recap.
While many YouTubers work in obscurity out of their bedrooms, some have managed to turn
their online success into more traditional fame, crossing over into TV and film.
Members of this elite group took center stage in Rewind 2018, despite the fact that they
can barely even be considered YouTubers anymore.
Making things worse, this year's Rewind only included around 100 creators, which is less
than half of the number that appeared in the video for 2017.
One word that kept popping up in the YouTube Rewind 2018 comments section is "cringe."
The campfire scenes were singled out and mocked for being way too preachy, with creators talking
politics and social issues in a way that just felt forced.
While some praised the video for putting the spotlight on charity, positivity, and good
deeds, others felt the video betrayed the memes, mayhem, and individuality that the
platform used to be all about.
But you know how you can tell the video was really out of touch?
When they all sat down to read the comments.
Talk about cringey.
Everyone knows not to do that.