KSI has left the Sidemen after almost 13 years.
On Sunday, the British content creator, real name Olajide Olatunji, announced his exit in a YouTube video, describing it as the “hardest video I’ve ever had to make in my life.”
“I’ve gone back and forth on this decision for a very long time. I’ve spent months trying to figure out what the right thing to do is, but after a lot of thought, I’ve decided that I will no longer be doing Sidemen videos,” he added.
He shared that that day would be his last as part of the extremely popular seven-person collective, which he called his “second family.”
“We’ve traveled the world together,” he continued. “We built something that none of us ever thought was possible, especially back then when we were making random videos together playing GTA. I still remember those early days with no idea that tens of millions of people were going to be watching us on the channel, and somehow this turned into an incredible journey together.”
In 2023, Forbes ranked the 32-year-old as the second-highest-earning creator in 2023 with annual earnings of just shy of $24 million that year. On his own, KSI has 18.4 million YouTube subscribers and 13 million followers on Instagram; as a collective, the Sidemen boast 47 million subscribers across their YouTube channels and social media accounts.
“I spent so long trying to be everything for everyone, trying to be everywhere, trying to do it all, trying not to let anyone down, but somewhere along the way, I started losing the balance of my own life,” KSI explained.
“I found it hard to make enough time for myself … I definitely found it hard to find time for my family. I found it hard to make time for the people I love, and I realized that something has to change. The Sidemen deserve someone who can give 100%, and right now, I know I can’t do that. It just wouldn’t be fair on the boys, it wouldn’t be fair to you, and it wouldn’t be fair to myself.”
It seems the streamer didn’t give the rest of the Sidemen a heads-up about his departure, with the crew revealing on IG that his exit “came as a surprise to us.”
“We’re sad to share the news that [KSI] has decided not to continue as part of the Sidemen,” the collective wrote. “We had an amazing time on this journey with him, and we wish him all the best with his future endeavors.”
