September, Friday 20, 2024

Fidias Apologizes for Irresponsible Stunt Video in Japan as a YouTuber


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A YouTuber named Fidias Panayiotou has issued an apology after receiving backlash for a video he posted titled "I Travelled Across Japan For Free." In the video, Panayiotou is shown evading train fares and avoiding paying for a five-star hotel breakfast, which has angered locals. The video has gained almost 500,000 views and has sparked calls for his arrest on social media platforms. Japanese rail authorities are also considering taking further action against him. Good manners are highly valued in Japan, and pranks that are seen as disrespectful are strongly disapproved of. Panayiotou, a Cypriot YouTuber with 2.4 million subscribers, described himself as a "professional mistake maker" on his YouTube page. The Japan video was part of a $10,000 challenge he participated in with three others. In the video, he hides in a bullet train washroom when confronted by a conductor and fakes illness; then, he boards another train and repeats the same stunt. He also begs for bus fare from a stranger but is short by 80 yen. The bus driver locks him in the bus and takes him to a police station, where he spends five hours in detention before being released. In another part of the video, he pretends to be a hotel guest in order to obtain a free breakfast. Panayiotou has since apologized, saying that he did not intend to make the Japanese people feel bad. It remains unclear when the video was filmed and if Panayiotou and his companions are still in Japan. Numerous social media users have demanded that he delete the video to prove the sincerity of his apology. As of Tuesday, it appeared that Panayiotou had removed the video from his YouTube channel. Some users expressed their displeasure, calling for his arrest and criticizing the exploitation of the kindness and politeness of the Japanese people. This incident is reminiscent of past controversies involving foreign YouTubers in Japan, such as the 2017 video posted by Logan Paul, which featured footage of a suicide victim in a Japanese forest.