His name is Ethan Klein. I honestly don’t know much about him except that he’s Jewish and runs a popular YouTube show which seems to feature a lot of left-leaning politics. Yesterday he decided to make a comment about Ben Shapiro which he pretty clearly knew in advance was a bad idea. He “joked” that if there were another holocaust he hopes Shapiro is the first Jew sent to the gas chamber.

“I hope Ben gets gassed first.”

Left-wing YouTube star Ethan Klein (@h3h3productions) muses about another holocaust against the Jews and says he hopes @benshapiro is killed first. pic.twitter.com/lrFSvg7aiM

— Andy Ngô 🏳️‍🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) October 19, 2022

That technical difficulties interruption wasn’t added later. That was apparently his staff’s attempt to shut him up before something terrible came out of his mouth. And in the full clip, you can see that Klein was sort of daring himself to say it. He hesitated a couple of times before the moment above where he went ahead. Shapiro responded with a couple of tweets yesterday.

Soft-pedaling genocidal terror group Hamas and lying about the IDF while chortling over which Jews go first in the next Holocaust is also an interesting look https://t.co/S7VymFTx3V

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 20, 2022

Klein replied that it was just a joke and mocked himself a bit. This is the old, clown nose on, clown nose off routine popularized by Jon Stewart. You attack people with outrageous statements and then if someone complains you claim it was just a joke.

Ben Shapiro, intellectual titan, arguing with this guy btw pic.twitter.com/nE3Q1vX6WS

— Ethan Klein (@h3h3productions) October 20, 2022

Later in the day Klein announced that he’d been suspended from YouTube and blamed Shapiro and “tiki torch carrying, white Christian nationalists.”

Ben Shapiro, who was happy to perform a purity test on me and declare me a bad Jew for criticizing Israel, hosts Candace “hitler just wanted to make Germany great again” Owens on his website The Daily Wire. He is constantly excusing, enabling and platforming real anti-semitism. pic.twitter.com/YN8egUFULR

— Ethan Klein (@h3h3productions) October 20, 2022

The people reporting me, excepting Ben, are tiki torch carrying, white Christian nationalists. They do not give a fuck about anti-semitism or Jewish people. They revel in the fact that YouTube and other institutions are so quick to act on bad faith & malicious outrage.

— Ethan Klein (@h3h3productions) October 20, 2022

For his part, Shapiro said he did not want to see Klein canceled but also pointed out that Klein has been fine with deplatforming people on the right in the past.

I don't believe that Ethan Klein should be suspended from YouTube for his awful garbage. But I'll shed no tears for a person who has routinely engaged in cancellation of others. World's smallest violin. pic.twitter.com/sjemJpHevQ

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 21, 2022

As you can see from those screengrabs, Klein removed two interviews he’d done with Jordan Peterson and, at the time, Peterson warned him that the woke would eventually come for him as well. Here was Peterson’s response back in January.

Finally, @h3h3productions, you might seriously consider providing me with the footage, so I can post it, given that I agreed to appear on your show based on the agreement that there would in fact be a show 🙂

— Dr Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) January 15, 2022

You will be held to higher and higher and soon impossible to maintain ethical standards by the very mob you currently wish to please. Then you will make a mistake, and they will devour you. With glee. Please take this warning seriously. I liked you.

— Dr Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) January 15, 2022

In this case, I don’t know if it’s the woke mob that is trying to cancel Klein or fans of Shapiro. I am pretty confident that any right-leaning YouTuber who made a “joke” about sending a Jew to the gas chamber would get a strike on their channel.

Klein has a history of making these kind of comments about the right. He got some attention this summer for suggesting someone should blow up an NRA meeting and shoot off guns outside Ted Cruz’s house. As you can see, the gimmick here is that his staff is always trying to pull him back but he won’t listen.

H3H3 Ethan Klein said all this!

Timestamps:
24:18 – Calls for Bombing @ NRA
27:35 – Calls for attack on Texas Governor in wheelchair.
54:39 – Calls for people to go to senator Ted Cruz house with guns & Shoot!
2:21:11 – Walmart Shooting Joke.

& he’s not Banned on YouTube! pic.twitter.com/E0pLFM5Ukf

— KEEM 🍿 (@KEEMSTAR) May 31, 2022

Klein is clearly looking for attention to help build his brand. That’s the way YouTube drama seems to work. I don’t think he actually wants to see anyone killed but, again, I’m not convinced YouTube would be as understanding of this kind of humor if he were a conservative.