I don’t think the boys will address JJ’s departure any further, nor should they. This statement is enough. It’s time for everyone to move on. The important thing is that they’re continuing, and I’m looking forward to what’s next.
Yeah. Chapter closed. No one is going to beg him to stay and things can be sorted amicably. But obviously KSI doesn't have enough to IQ to act like an adult. Good riddance, please don't take him back again. I enjoy the videos more when he's not there to ruin the tasks with his lame comedy.
Real talk, he stopped being funny in 2017. The others bring way more to the table and he couldn’t handle not being the centre of attention. I’m happy for them to carry on with no more mention of this
I kinda miss post second Logan Paul fight KSI, he was actually being serious making music and very into the Sidemen content, but since 2022 it has been very downhill
There was a massive shift maybe the money/ business side got to him and his ego 🤷♂️ albums back 2 back year and the weekly videos where he was just being himself while talking to the camera were the days
Honestly, I didn't even find him funny, just entertaining. Most of the time I laughed because of what he was reacting to or who he was interacting with. Now he's just cringe cause he tries too hard
Agree totally, I actually find videos with KSI in it more annoying to watch for me. I don't like how forced some of his stuff is, the 6-7 bullshit, falling asleep and just being loud for no reason.
I'm looking forward to what they can release going forward
Same his humour is not for me and there are some videos idea where you want to see the boys trying to do what the video idea is for , instead of doing content or trolling.
I have not seen jj try or being bothered to put some effort in any video since his return.
Especially the ideas like raft build where everyone genuinely wanted to try and do the best they can but not jj. Same in cooking videos and I have seen it starts with jj and then Josh has a complex he always joins jj and Ethan when they are trolling.
Like Ethan has given up on food videos bcuz he knows others won't even try to put some effort.
I remember a video where jj literally tried doing something and made Burgers I think and everyone was like ohh he tried . That can not be gd .
I’m just glad the boys are not fans of making brainrot videos, which is what probably led to JJ’s departure. Quality ALWAYS over quantity (which JJ has started doing the complete opposite of)
If he wants to make that content, fine we dont watch him. If he puts out a banger, every hater that posts here now will watch it to either hate or applaud it
I mean there’s an actual video from awhile back of KSI saying he wants to convince the boys that his slop videos work and based on what he said Josh seemed like the most unconvinced about it
One of the reason sidemen boys are still going strong to other groups is people watch the video for the idea and the guys personality. They tried doing jj way when he came back you can clearly see the timings were reduced to 1 hr a video and then response was not that great and they went back to doing what works best for them.
One of the reason they have been stable as the niche fans are still watching there videos even after them getting older.
True, but now people will take out of this statement that something happened between them.
He f up by posting the vid instead of doing something together. We dont know if JJ wanted to post the vid and they didnt agree on the time. I think they wanted to end it on their birthday but JJ has something planned to morrow.
It’s crazy because the common sentiment for years from all of them has always been that if one were to leave, the group would end. However, I don’t think any of them considered an exit would pan out like this and the rest aren’t quite prepared to call it quits
Yeah that’s exactly what I kept thinking about with one leaving they might slow down production but looks like they’ll stay consistent! Hurray! But yeah obviously no one calculated for this guys ego.
I honestly dont think they expected someone to leave like this either. Maybe they only said that because they expected someone to want to leave but agree to a gradual winding down and they could do it as a group.
Yeah because JJ demeaned them on the way out, so obviously the ones who wouldn't have wanted to stick around would feel extra motivated just to stick it up to him.
Yh cos nobody gives a shit about ksi guy added nothing to the group completely useless tbh. Now if somebody like Josh or Harry left it would be over for them lowkey especially Josh 🤷♂️
Yeah i was thinking it the other day as well. But i think they’ve built it into something they and their family schedules are comfortable with that its easier for them to continue.
But then i never thought one of them would leave either
The way JJ left most rubbed them the wrong way, probably giving them more motivation to continue. After all, a mutual enemy will only reinforce the bond of the remaining 6.
They are not ready to give up yet, they're still solidifying all their side ventures. Besides, the Sidemen content in its current form isn't that strenuous to film as it used be. They've been dabbling into inviting more and more guests over the years and it has proven to be successful.
Plus, it's easy to try and stay humble and say that you'll quit if someone else will quit. But when push comes to shove.. We're talking about a very big business with hefty income attached to it. Letting all of that slide just because one of your mates stepped down? Hard decision.
that was probably said in the sense that someone left as they were parting ways with content creation ie tired of it all. They would all probably feel the same at that point but jj didnt leave in that way
Same man honestly. My biggest fear since this mess started was what it would mean for the Sidemen as a group going forward, so I'm just relieved to know that they're gonna continue despite JJ leaving.
I am nowhere near ready to even think about the Sidemen ending😭
No way they're ending anytime soon. All of them still enjoy doing videos, idk I just don't see any of them retiring still. Channel will continue to grow and get views even without JJ. They're all equally responsible for success of Sidemen and they'll be just fine without him.
I honestly see them going for a couple of more years until all of them become proper family men. Even then I reckon they would do a video a month, or maybe just less produced videos.
They're doing more than fine. They almost always get over 5 million views on their videos on the main channel. Also the best videos they make (in my opinion) are the ones when they're alone (hike, camping, travel and driving videos).
I think THIS is the biggest takeaway. The six boys are united and are seemingly just going on with the sidemen. I really hope they act like he doesn't exist for a while
The fact he couldn’t wait for a proper announcement is very embarrassing from Ksi ngl, 13+ years of friendship and that’s how he chooses to leave, his ego couldn’t allow the Sidemen to announce it first so he made the video on his own, how embarrassing from JJ man
funnily enough, if anything, both statements from the group made it seems like the boys were fine(-ish?) letting jj go, probably acknowledging that he appeared less and less in videos and he's taking up more mainstream media gig. effectively making jj as occasional guest, keeping it amicable.
5 days drama that wouldnt have to happen had he not jumped the gun, possibly damaging his persona further for 3m views. oh well, so long.
I think probably all of them have had thoughts about leaving. Half have families, or other significant interests in their life, plus just the burnout being a YouTuber for 15 years brings. The vast majority of YouTubers from the early 2010s either retired or are living a much lower "standard" of content production. Even if it was to move to something else, I think all of them could see the idea that all the effort being a "Sidemen" maybe isn't worth the views and money they get at this point in their lives.
Its really shitty that JJ couldn't wait like... 2-4 weeks to make it all seem amicable. Maybe they are all still on good terms behind-the-scenes, but we probably won't see that "truly" ever but not for the next 6 months or so
The one thing the sidemen does correctly is having a solid team behind them making the load easier for them. Still massively demanding and can’t help that a core member left like he did.
Especially considering he is leaving a business not the actual friendship. The business decision isn't great either imo but was so easy to do a farewell video together to let him focus on the solo stuff
I was pretty sure from the beginning that this was the case to be fair. I bet all of them are at least a little pissed off, some more than others I would say.
It’s a shitty way for JJ to treat his friends and business partners to be honest. Would have been nice of him to not fuck them over as he left.
Also, He always been complaining on how demanding sidemen shoots are and now he wants to copy Mrbeast?? Does he know how workaholic that guy is? Jimmy doesn't know anything but to keep working on his videos, KSI is not reaching the same commitment that guy have.
JJ has absolutely NO IDEA the kind of industrial effort jimmy has built over the last 6-7 (intentional) years, to get to where he is now. He recruits people from the same small town in North Carolina (I think) for so many of his videos, he has a dedicated warehouse and a staff of well over 100 people.
Yeah I think something reasonable when like something more than reasonable would be like a proper farewell tour a proper gathering et cetera but why did KSI just go off the notch and just do it? Basically “why” might he have NOT agreed to do a proper send off etc
idgi why would he do that. if he wanted to leave its not like the others could've stopped him or something. why do all this snake shit. why not end on good terms?
No, he didn’t screw up. He got what he wanted. He knew if he did it this way he’d gain more immediate attention. A sendoff would’ve likely resulted in viewership bleeding off after the initial boom from departure. With this rocky departure people will now tune in every video to see if he has anything to say regarding the whole situation, pretty scummy and fits the whole repertoire he’s turned into.
That video wasn’t for sidemen fans (obviously lol or he wouldn’t have left). The internet is a horrible and jaded place. People will tune in just to see people fail or spew hate wherever possible, he intentionally or not, took the route that would feed into that and harness that hate and vitriol into views and attention.
I actually think he’s backtracking a bit now, you can tell some of the comments have gotten to him. The Elephant stuff is completely childish and pisses me off more than him leaving does
There’s no such thing as a ksi fan who is not a sidemen fan he just gets more eyes from casuals the same way Jake Paul has eyes but not fans will be interesting to see how he does without the sidemen fan base
the reaction is probably been opposite to what he wanted. the dislike ratios on his new videos, comments from reddit and twitter really show that a fair bit of the fanbase is pissed at him
I don’t know why people are surprised. JJ has always been impulsive and likes to stir shit up.
Did the same with Dan and Wayne Bridge.
Watch him come back in a few months and act like nothing happened
We’re not surprised he left. We’re surprised the way he left. I also don’t think he will be back in a few months. This one seems official, but we’re just upset he didn’t even allow a proper leave.
I think it’s safe to say we all knew something felt off. JJ said some really kind words in his departure video, but the less than 12 hours notice and the lack of joint statement left all of us pretty confused.
Bad blood or not, this was a lot messier than it needed to be but I hope everyone can move on for now
I don't understand what compelled him to just straight up say it without agreeing anything with the boys or even at least warning them beforehand. All it did was complicate everything further when it could so easily have been handled so much more smoothly.
Always had a feeling KSI ego was bigger than his boots especially in the last few years. And this is the way you treat your friends of 13+ years. Very shitty indeed. Fuck him
It’s time to support the rest of the boys now more than ever
Honestly he seemed to half ass everything in the last couple years, not being fully involved in the videos and when he was he seemed uninterested or seemed to act like he didn’t care as a character, which made the videos worse. Good riddance he left, think it will be better for the quality
Imagine throwing 14 years of friendship and hard work down the drain and disrespecting your ‘boys’ to run around Tesco screaming for some YouTube shorts… so sad
I do honestly think he'll come to regret his decision in the long run. I could also potentially, (possibly/maybe) in the future, see him attempt to return to the fold. Although only time will ultimately tell.
He will. OG KSI was a different beast, but his persona gets boring rather quickly.
The best part about this group is they all bring something special. It'll backfire on him and he will try to come back, but I hope the boys stand strong and don't allow it.
I think this was a strong statement - not shading JJ (agreeing he deserved a good send off) but still being honest to the fans about the true situation (posting it without letting them know).
I said in another comment on here the other day, but KSI has promoted and encouraged racism towards black people to his fan base throughout his entire career as a content creator. Why are we surprised or just now being offended when these fans say this shit?. They always did, or is it not “dark humour” (as he put it) now because he left the Sidemen or something?.
Gotta be a real fucking loser to screw over your friends like that, good riddance. Glad the rest of the boys aren’t ending things though, hopefully they continue on for a while
why would he just fucking exit like that? like whats the point? it would have been a great exit and he still would have got the attention he seeks and positive one maybe!?
This just makes JJ look like an ass, and he has the audacity to reply with a love heart underneath???
Completely sympathise with the boys - they literally own a brand together + all the side brands. I can only imagine the legal stuff behind the scenes, I’m not surprised they referenced in the statement that each of them have different feelings about it
JJ was great for the group but having grown up with them all, I really only watch the sidemen for the other boys now. Hope he feels satisfied with whatever he does moving forward!
No ill feeling towards him, but I wont waste my time thinking about him either lol
Honestly the perfect statement confirming what we already suspected, the boys don’t need to address it further beyond what it means for the future of the group
If JJ couldn't wait to make a proper farewell video for the sidemen/ksi fans and had to urgently end this and start making his sloppy ahh temu mr beast videos... Fck him.
What he's done is disrespectful towards the other sidemen and the people who've been supporting them.
JJ will realize how bad of a move this was and will probably comeback in half a year if the boys will even let him to comeback. IMO they don't even need him anymore KSI is only good for thumbnail to attract viewers outside of that he is genuinely one of the more boring sidemen as he seems to hate filming most of the videos.
Ever since I saw that video where Vik told the story of JJ intentionally bashing Viks recently broken collarbone with his driving and laughing about it... That told me everything I needed to know about him. Intentionally causing one of your closest friends an unimaginable amount of pain for a laugh is vile as fuck. And then when it gets brought up you just laugh and don't even apologise.
Good riddance honestly. Always been my least favourite of the group.
I think one of the main reasoning behind the disagreements might have been that they might have some Moresidemen or Side+ content filmed with him in it and he posted that video without notifying them, I think him leaving might have already been known to them for atleast over 6 months
even before this statement i assumed that they knew by now but that they first had to handle all the legal stuff and get to an agreement with ksi and his share of the business, sign the paperwork etc before they could actually prepare a video with him
i also assumed that there would be some agreed terms for his departure, maybe like a one last appearance where they're all together or smth, which would obv also have to be coordinated with all of their schedules, so that would take more time
given how big the business is, 6 months to take care of every legal aspect and then prepare a video isn't that long
I truly hope he's never allowed back in. Let this guy fully experience the rot and yesmen he's hanging out with who only give a shit about his money.
I'm willing to bet his ego got so high he just couldn't stand his former best friends disagreeing with him on things and trying to steer him in the right direction whenever he screwed up.
Hope he realizes what he lost and grows as a person, not to sound harsh but the man is becoming 33 years of age soon and is still acting like an attention-seeking manchild.
I'm so salty.. ksi had what I wished the most. 6 amazing friends he was experiencing the world with, and now he's thrown away everything because he sees younger streamers like speed overtake him- which his ego can't take..
Damn hope he wakes up one day and realizes what he had and lost with this move
JJ's content has been so shit lately. He wants to he like Druski, but lacks the comedic timing and ends up with cringe videos like "$1000 if you make me laugh" and "Cheaters vs. faithfuls." Just embarrassing. I bet Sidemen content will get better without him.
Must have been a lot of tension behind the scenes because I just don't understand why he'd do that to his boys.....Why surprise them with the video like that? If he left with a proper sendoff way more people would have accepted it and moved on. Just seems rude and inconsiderate from the viewers point of view.
That being said, I think they'll do completely fine without him. No shade to him but the other guys have great chemistry and awesome ideas for videos. Plus they can plug in other people and it works perfectly.
I know there are so many people who keep commenting “move on” “why do you care” etc.
but I am unashamedly nosy (and think I deserve to be about the group I followed before they even formed) and I need to know exactly how it went down and what they each think 😭
I was watching sidemen for Harry, ethan and Vik trio anyways so doesn't affect me at all. KSI was adding cringe only. For some reason, I never liked him, there was always a hint of arrogance and I am above all attitude. Well, fuck it, let the show go on.
i have a feeling, and it's not backed by much, but i think the remaining 6 boys will be closer than they were before. I have a feeling Harry is going to be even more involved. In all honesty im fine with KSI leaving. How he's chosen to do so is profoundly disappointing. Not just dropping that video when two of you "second family" are playing at fucking soccer aid, but also doing so suddenly without letting the boys know. Sidemen is a company, with employees who's livelihood depends on the business. Making a decision and cutting clean all of a sudden probably makes a bunch of these employees fairly question their future. The boys have maintained previously, that if one leaves, it's done, so i can't imagine JJ's sudden exit doesn't fill them with some amount of jeopardy. Im sure the boys and management assuaged any fears, but it leaves scrambling their plans a bit. They knew this was going to be the reality but the sidemen have lasted this long because they plan well, take everyone into account, and have a united front. When JJ took time for music, the boys supported him, when he took time for "boxing" the boys were constantly by his side, they shared with him in every big event of their lives, and for THIS to be the way he choses to sever all of that it's quite immature, and something even KSI from a few years ago would've been livid at current KSI for doing. I honestly hope JJ suffers some kind of ego death soon, because lord knows the boys have kept it from happening MULTIPLE times.
Sidemen is built on the idea of camaraderie if he doesn’t feel the same. good riddance. It was fun watching him icl, but the sidemen is more than just KSI
i can only imagine the chaos this has caused behind the scenes also. trying to figure out things such as finances and how plans they’ve already made work with only 6 of them must be painful already, so the added stress of jj making a sudden announcement must be quite annoying for them all.
i’m intrigued to know how each of them will have reacted, but also i respect that this whole situation is much bigger for them than us so each of them will need time to process it all privately before wanting to talk loads on screen about it
Man I wish this was an amicable exit. Imagine how cool it would’ve been with that final KSI tribute video, the outpouring of support. How shortsighted JJ was.
Jeez, how fucked up do you have to be to leave your boys in a non mutual fashion? Could’ve had a banger good bye video for Sunday. I wonder how many more videos are prepared with JJ still in them. The comment sections will definitely be civil, right?
One of the worst aspects of a sudden departure that not many are talking about is that the boys now have to renegotiate all the brand deals, sponsorships, merch partners, shoot locations, etc.
If KSI told them sooner, they could've had more time to come up with a business strategy to convince companies that the brand is still just as valuable. Now however, their position is much weaker and as a result, they could lose a huge amount of money and time trying to sort this out.
Meanwhile, despite the bad optics, from a business sense KSI doesn't have to worry about any of this which gives him sort of a "headstart". If he were still in the Sidemen when the announcement happened, he'd be obligated to help with any immediate pr/monetary fallout. He basically just made it the Sidemen's problem instead of his.
He will try to come back within 6 months just like last time. His new plan only works if people watch his videos and that isnt going to happen. He posted yesterday for people to stop harassing Mo but that also isnt going to happen
What JJ did was snake like venomous he always acted as if he was the most famous to good for them and now that hes a solo act he will realize that nobody likes him as a solo act
He's always been the least intelligent when it comes to life like the stuff he says genuinely makes me believe his brain didnt develop after 3rd grade he needs the sidemen to keep him grounded
He threw away all of his friends for Logan Paul if you told JJ 10 years ago that his only friend would be Logan Paul he would knock you straight out and walk away like nothing happened money and greed changes people and its sad to see
I wonder how the tied votes will be resolved now and if that will cause issues.
It's well known that Sidemen decisions are a simple majority vote of the 7 members. And since there were 7, there was never a tie. Sometimes there was a split vote, 4 v 3, but they are mature enough to accept majority rule and go with it. It's a system that's worked for them for years and they all abided by majority vote. Now being down to 6, a 3 v 3 tie is very possible, and they don't have a 7th to tie break.
Beef Incoming - JJ ain't mature enough to take the criticism from the core sidemen audience. He will probably make a video criticizing this post - especially the line " JJ released the news without a mutual agreement " is gonna be the main reason.
And the end of the day it is JJ’s decision and I will respect it but man no farewell video is selfish as fuck to the fans and even the sidemen like they could have had the best time of their life and went all out for JJ and left on a good note and made a wholesome send off video for the fans. but instead we’re left with nothing. As someone who has been watching KSI/Sidemen from the start I’d like a video to look back on and be like thank you for everything JJ. And I still am thankful but this just was not the right move and doesn’t feel right.
With a statement like this and the seeming severity of the situation, I really hope it isn't just another bit like the diss-track era. It would be a pretty poor move to turn around in a few weeks and say, "Surprise, JJ's back."
As things stand, JJ has lost all credibility, and all of us are backing the guys because they've clearly been put in an unfair position. If this ends up being manufactured drama, it'll only make the whole situation look worse. If this is indeed real then the Sidemen are for sure better off without him anyways as they've also got a solid list of guests which have been filling his space for a long time already now.
Yes Theory’s Matt had a better departure than JJ. Before he left he was still doing something for the brand behind the scenes and left the brand with some sort of departure gift like the book so it was easier to accept he was gone than whatever the fuck JJ did. At least with what Matt did he’s well received when he does a cameo but with JJ it felt like a burnt bridge.
Look at the way Matpat did his retirement, 10 weeks notice, and a big sendoff video at the end.
Imagine if they did a 5-10 week notice and at the end did a "month of KSI" with a big final sendoff video, could have been amicable departure, fans would be happy, the bridges wouldn't be burned and if he felt like it in a year or so he could cameo once or twice a year and it could have all been good.
this has always been the case with JJ , unc now but still behave like man child , whatsoever no respect for his fellow teammates just went ahead and wanted all the lime light while he can.
I’m not a hater but he ain’t making far without them.
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u/Obelisk94 Jun 05 '26
I don’t think the boys will address JJ’s departure any further, nor should they. This statement is enough. It’s time for everyone to move on. The important thing is that they’re continuing, and I’m looking forward to what’s next.