YouTube star KSI has confirmed he will be taking a break from social media after making a racist slur in a recent video.
KSI, whose real name is Olajide William Olatunji, made his name with YouTube group The Sidemen and is regularly involved in the channel's challenges and sketches alongside a number of other internet personalities.
In a recent Sidemen Sunday clip, the group took on a 'Countdown challenge', tasked with finding the longest word they can from nine letters, as is the format in the popular Channel 4 daytime show.
In a team with the nickname 'N*****'', KSI admitted he was struggling to find an answer, before revealing his attempt: "We need points and I don't mean this maliciously, but the word is P***."
His fellow YouTube stars, including Chunkz and Filly, were seen laughing as they expressed their shock at the answer before KSI admitted he was "sorry" about his attempt.
The 29-year-old has now taken to Twitter to apologise for making the racial slur. He said: "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 video appears to have been deleted from Sidemen's social media platforms. The group's YouTube channel has over 18m subscribers, while KSI boasts 16.2m on his own.
It comes after he featured at WWE's Wrestlemania this weekend alongside Logan Paul, and was accidentally put through the announcers' table by his former rival, and now business partner.
KSI appeared as a mascot in a huge Prime suit, with the pair having launched the energy drink business that has proved to be a huge hit across the world.
The YouTuber has also enjoyed success inside the boxing ring in recent years and won his last fight against Thomas Oliveira back in January. He is due to return to the ring on May 13 at Wembley Arena when he takes on Joe Fournier.
A potential showdown with Tommy Fury has also been mooted after the former Love Island star beat Jake Paul in Saudi Arabia, with John Fury recently revealing discussions between the two camps had been held.
