A Canadian YouTuber going by the handle 'ImJayStation' has been admitted to faking his girlfriend's death in a bid to increase the views on his channel.
Last week ImJayStation (real name Jason Ethier) posted a now-deleted video to his channel on January 21 entitled: 'My Girlfriend Alexia Died… *Rest In Paradise*.'
ImJayStation came clean about the attempted hoax in his latest video:In it, the vlogger could be seen sobbing to his 5.4 million subscribers that his girlfriend Alexia had been killed in a hit-and-run by a drunk driver, stating: "She got hit, guys. She's gone. Sorry for crying. I know you guys are going to make fun of me for crying. She's gone too soon."
However, suspicions were raised when Ethier posted his next video, in which he attempted to contact the supposedly-deceased Alexia via an Ouija board. This video, and all subsequent content on his channel, were clearly monetized and promoted his and Alexia's joint prank channel Dream Team.
Fellow YouTuber SomeOrdinaryGamers did a bit of detective work, and tweeted: "Jaystation is lying about his dead girlfriend. I've spent the entire night browsing and checking with police dept in Toronto and Ottawa. No police reports, no local news agencies and worst of all no family is confirming. I'm done with YouTube. I'm dumb for feeling sorry. [sic]"
Days later, Ethier uploaded a new video where he came clean about the hoax, claimed that Alexia had been in on it from the start. He added that they have now broken up that she has reported him to the police on assault charges, with footage showing the police coming to his door and informing Ethier of the allegations.
Last year, another YouTuber provoked controversy by crying over having to work a 9-5 job:He states: "Alexia is trying to ruin my life because of videos that she helped me make. I now face serious charges and can't leave my house without getting arrested, and I did not even commit the crime."