Leave Justin Bieber alone!
Bieber is an autochthonic YouTube phenomenon. Before he became a pop megastar, the young performer recorded himself playing a guitar and singing and uploaded the results to YouTube. So it’s only fitting that he’s attracted his share of derision on the Internet video site—as well as some truly bizarre defenders.
On July 5, Jared Milton, who gives his age as 15 in his profile, uploaded a video to YouTube titled “An Official Warning to Justin Bieber Haters.” To date, his original video has more than 200,000 views, not counting the mirrors and remixes. (Before you click to watch it, be aware that he uses some profanity.)
With disturbingly wide eyes and an odd speaking voice, Milton begins his video with “hello idiots, hello retards of the Internet” and goes on to state he has contacts in “the FBI, CIA, and Secret Services all throughout Europe, Asia, America and Australia.” Milton says he’s received permission to publish all personal data he obtains about haters on his website, which he notes will be up in August.
To this YouTube reporter’s eyes, Milton’s video isn’t particularly funny; I didn’t laugh while watching it. It’s an obvious attempt to troll, or provoke a response. But the younger denizens of YouTube took to making video responses, of which there are hundreds. Despite being weeks old, YouTubers are still talking about Milton’s video. Someone has even created “The War Against Jared Milton” Facebook page.
YouTuber sjking92 created a challenge video asking YouTubers to record how long they were able to watch Jared Milton’s video before cracking up. One of the better challenge response videos comes from a young girl who goes by “TheGracoShow”, and incidentally, this challenge was her very first video, uploaded yesterday.
Even YouTube megastar Ray William Johnson, who featured Milton’s video on his July 18 show, thinks Milton is faking it “to get Internet popularity.” Johnson added, “Trust me dude, I’ve got Internet popularity, it’s not all that great.”
Milton hasn’t made any apparent attempts to explain or respond. So Johnson’s theory is the most plausible, especially when one considers Milton uploaded a similar video, with the same title, back in March. His March video evoked a similar response, but Milton removed that earlier version. (Encyclopedia Dramatica, a website known for its hilariously scathing and profane reviews of Internet phenomena, documented the incident; that link is not safe for work, small children, or the easily offended.)
In Milton’s earlier video posted in March, he cited a video by YouTube user ericcDouglace titled “Declaration Of War Against Justin Bieber Haters.” Milton expressed his belief that ericcDouglace was himself trolling YouTube viewers.
But what does that make Milton? Why would he come back, only to post more inflammatory videos on the Internet? And what of all the hundreds of YouTubers that were caught up in his videos?
If Milton was trying to parody Chris Crocker’s “Leave Britney Alone” video, in which Crocker defended Britney Spears, he’s already been beaten by this kid: