YouTuber JayStation — whose real name is Jason Ethier — has faced major backlash since admitting that he faked his ex-girlfriend Alexia Marano‘s death for views and subscribers. On Wednesday, February 5, the 29-year-old reacted to criticisms about his videos via Instagram Stories and told followers that he is not apologizing for what he did.

“I did a video with my ex-girlfriend as a stunt, like a series thing on YouTube, she was down with it for views. It would have been completely obvious it was a skit once you guys saw what was going to happen,” he explained in the since-expired clips. “I’m not profiting off of nobody’s death…I’m not really apologizing for what I did anyway.”

The internet star also blamed “cancel culture” for all the backlash he had received.

“Cancel culture is pretty disgusting, man. It’s free speech, bro,” he said. “If I make entertaining videos, for purely entertainment, about a Ouija board or whatever I do  — calling the tooth fairy, calling the Grinch and Santa — it doesn’t deserve to be cancelled, it doesn’t deserve demonetization.”

For those who don’t know, the controversy started after Jason uploaded a video to his channel and claimed Alexia had passed away in a drunk driving accident. He later posted two more videos about her death, one where he visited her “roadside memorial” and another where he attempted to contact her using an Ouija board. However, on January 26, 2020, Jason deleted his three previous videos and revealed in a new upload that he came up with this “prank” as a way to get more subscribers on the couple’s Dream Team YouTube channel. He also told viewers that Alexia was initially “okay” with the videos, but they have since broken up.

In his confession video, Jason also claimed that after Alexia helped him film the since-deleted Ouija board video, she left and reported him to the police for allegedly assaulting her with a weapon.

At the time, Jason explained that he was now in “serious trouble” with the law and claimed Canadian police officers came to his apartment with a warrant for his arrest. According to a disclaimer that Jason placed at the beginning of his video, where he lives, police can’t arrest anyone who has a warrant “if you are inside your house.”

On Monday, February 3, the Toronto police released a statement and said that Jason had been arrest and was charged with assault and assault with a weapon. He did not address the arrest in his Instagram Stories rant which was released two days later.

According to the police, Jason is set to appear in court in Toronto on March 16, 2020.

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