Kjellberg admits that he enjoys living in Brighton, as he is able to live in general anonymity, adding that one of the reasons he has not moved to
Los Angeles is, "Anytime I'm there, people are constantly patting you on the back, telling you how great you are. It fucks with your brain. I started YouTube because I was bored, not to become famous."
[24] In June 2016, Kjellberg announced he had been evicted after a neighbour confronted him for being too loud.
[154]
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In a
Rolling Stone article, PewDiePie admitted to being shocked by his fame; PewDiePie recalled a gaming event near his hometown, stating "I remember there were five security guards yelling at a crowd to back up — it was out of control. It was shocking to find myself in that situation, where I was that celebrity person."
[12] At the 2013 Social Star Awards, PewDiePie greeted his fans personally despite security warning him against doing so.
[1][80] PewDiePie also mentioned this event to
Rolling Stone, stating, "I didn't even understand they were screaming for me at first."
[12]
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Although games being featured on PewDiePie's channel have reportedly contributed to their commercial success, he has stated, "I just want to play the games, not influence sales."
[86]
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On the topic of his earnings, PewDiePie stated that he is "extremely tired of talking about how much I make. In the very few interviews I've made, it doesn't matter how long we've talked to each other, the headline is still just about my paycheck."
[100] After extensive media coverage of his earnings, Kjellberg posted a video, expressing his frustration at the extensive media coverage over his income. In the video he claimed, "We did raise a million dollars for charity, and very few articles picked up on that, but here it is everywhere how much money I make," adding, "It seems like the whole world cares more about how much money I make than I do myself."
[101] Relating to his source of his income, PewDiePie stated: "I think that's what's cool about YouTube: That anyone could technically do it, right? Surely if I didn't exist, there would be someone to fill my place."
[102]
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Additionally, PewDiePie posted on
Reddit, "I make more than I need from YouTube," adding, "with that freedom, but also to respect my fans for making that possible, I don't end up doing many endorsements."
[112] On this topic, PewDiePie has claimed that it is disappointing when a large chunk of people misinterpret a component of his character; he states, "if I mention on Twitter that I find this or that
Kickstarter project cool, people immediately start to ask what economical interests I might have in it. Things like that can bring me down. But it's not personal; some people just prefer to believe the worst about others at any given time."
[13]
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PewDiePie's channel is under Polaris, a gaming network, part of
Maker Studios, a multi-channel network that drives the growth of the channels under it.
[19][113][114][115] Despite being signed under a network, PewDiePie refuses to hire an editor to help him with his video output, stating "I want YouTube to be YouTube."
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