Social media star KSI has come under fire following the use of racial slurs in the most recent YouTube video with popular the collective ‘Sidemen’.

The video, which saw the group partake in a game-show-style challenge ended with the star dropping a racial slur.

The YouTube star KSI has announced he will be stepping away from social media. The Sidemen on YouTube is where KSI, whose real name is Olajide William Olatunji, first gained popularity. He frequently participates in the channel’s challenges and skits together with other well-known online personalities.

In a recent Sidemen Sunday episode, the group participated in a “Countdown challenge,” in which KSI dropped a racial slur.

Teacher and broadcaster Mehreen Baig, was amongst some of those who were disappointed in the video stating: “This is horrifically disappointing from KSI and his crew,”

She added, “so many of my students look up to these guys and they’re casually throwing around a word that has consistently been used to bully and attack south Asians. This isn’t comedy. What’s worse is that it will be swept under the carpet after minimal outrage because racism against brown people is so normalised.”

KSI has since issued an apology for the comments stating: “I wanna apologise for saying a racial slur in a recent Sidemen video. There’s no excuse, no matter the circumstances, I shouldn’t have said it and I’m sorry.

“I’ve always said to my audience that they shouldn’t worship me or put me on a pedestal because I’m human. I’m not perfect, I’m gonna mess up in life, and lately I’ve been messing up a lot. So I’ve decided I’m gonna just take a break from social media for a while.”

The Sidemen have since too issued an apology on behalf of the collective stating: “We have reflected on this incident both collectively and individually and are truly ashamed that we let ourselves and you guys down in this way. […] Again, we are truly sorry and promise to do better.”

KSI, who is also a boxer, a musician, and the CEO of the well-known Prime energy drink business, has recently gained a lot of cultural clout. His main YouTube personal account has more than 20 million subscribers, while the account he shares with the other Sidemen has almost as many. Tens of millions of people frequently share the videos on both accounts.