BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

YouTube: Zac Efron promotion draws ire from fans

  • Published
    1 April 2019
Share page
About sharing
Zac Efron looking wistful, with 'The Greatest Showman' written behind him.Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Zac Efron had a starring role in 2017 hit The Greatest Showman

By Tom Gerken
BBC UGC & Social News

"Oh good, another mainstream celebrity getting endorsed by YouTube."

It is a comment, external indicative of YouTube's fractious relationship with its users of late.

The video-sharing site saw its annual highlights package become the most-disliked video of all time in December 2018, while in February 2019 it was criticised after deleting the accounts of several prominent YouTubers.

Now a new storm is brewing, and it centres around A-list celebrities.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post by YouTube

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post by YouTube

Zac Efron is the latest Hollywood star to crossover to YouTube, with his first video published on 30 March 2019, external.

Though he might not have expected such a divisive response when he started his channel.

While there are plenty of Efron fans excited about the prospect - the video's comments section is overwhelmingly positive - there are others who are less convinced.

The frustration for these people is not the star himself, but rather the way his new video has been promoted.

A Twitter post from YouTube urging followers to watch his video has drawn consternation, with many asking why the celebrity is getting special treatment, external.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 2 by Sigma Later

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 2 by Sigma Later
line

You may also be interested in:

  • YouTube backtracks after Pokemon 'child abuse' ban

  • YouTube's copyright claim system abused by extorters

  • YouTuber in row over copyright infringement of his own song

line

'Keep the 'you' in YouTube'

For some people, this represents a cultural shift of sorts.

The YouTube platform ostensibly gives the same opportunity to everyone who uploads a video - anyone could become "the next big thing".

Popular personalities like PewDiePie, Zoella and MrBeast all started out as so-called "smaller creators", making videos that were being watched by a handful of people.

For some, the frustration comes from fear that mainstream celebrities will draw attention away from smaller creators, external, making it even harder to break through.

For others, it is simply that these celebrities are given an even bigger advantage by YouTube using its social channels to promote them.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 3 by Reece

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 3 by Reece

'Ah, that's hot, that's real hot'

Zac Efron is not the first celebrity to make his way onto YouTube.

Jack Black made his debut in December 2018, external, though he earned support by referencing popular YouTubers and leaving his teenage son in charge behind-the-scenes, external.

On the other side of this is Will Smith, whose high production value videos including a helicopter bungee jump, external might seem more at home on traditional television.

The difference between the two comes down to YouTube itself.

The platform has not promoted Black's JablinskiGames channel on social media, while it promoted several videos by Smith in 2018 drawing tongue-in-cheek criticism from fans.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 4 by Cripp Daddy ♿™

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 4 by Cripp Daddy ♿™

YouTube has been approached for comment.

More on this story

  • YouTube in Pokemon child abuse images row

    • Published
      18 February 2019
    Two large pikachu stuffed toys
  • How YouTube copyright extortion works

    • Published
      14 February 2019
    The YouTube logo split between a wall and a phone screen
  • YouTuber's copyright battle with himself

    • Published
      5 July 2018
    A still taken from Paul Davids' YouTube video. He is looking directly at the camera and seems slightly perplexed.

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Government ditches key welfare reform after fears of potential defeat

    • 14569 viewing15k viewing
  • Three ex-bosses of Lucy Letby arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter

    • Published
      5 hours ago
  • UK sees hottest day of 2025 as heatwave peaks

    • Published
      45 minutes ago

More to explore

  • Meet the only English manager at the Euros

    • Attribution
      Sport
    Gemma Grainger portrait
  • How many people cross the Channel in small boats?

    A group of about a dozen people wearing life jackets who are thought to be migrants in the sea off the beach at Gravelines, France. They are waiting to board a black and white motorboat in an attempt to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel. Eight or nine people are already on the boat, some wearing life jackets and almost all wearing face masks.
  • Is RFK Jr's divisive plan to Make America Healthy Again fearmongering - or revolutionary?

    A treated image of a cap reading 'make America healthy again'
  • Police reflect on Sarah Payne's murder 25 years on

    An eight-year-old girl with blonde hair, dark brown eyes and wearing a red jumper.
  • Did BBC's focus on one potential Glastonbury controversy miss another?

    Kneecap's Mo Chara (L) and Moglai Bap (R) perform on stage.
  • 'I can't hear it' - Wimbledon's first day of electronic calling

    • Attribution
      Sport
    A line camera is pictured with Centre Court in the background
  • As Squid Game ends, South Koreans return to the reality that inspired it

    A giant sculpture of a doll from the show Squid Game stands in front of a Korean temple, holding what appears to be a tug-o-war rope, next to a sign of the word Netflix
  • Oasis and me: How the Gallaghers changed lives

    Anthony Lanni, pictured when he was aged 15 in 1996, standing next to Liam Gallagher in the front door of the musician's home
  • Politics Essential: Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox every weekday

    Politics Essential graphic
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Family pay tribute to girl killed by falling tree

  2. 2

    US Senate Republicans narrowly pass Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill

  3. 3

    Bella Culley tells court she was 'tortured'

  4. 4

    Three ex-bosses of Lucy Letby arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter

  5. 5

    Trump threatens to set Doge on Musk as pair feud again over budget plan

  6. 6

    Millions of websites to get 'game-changing' AI bot blocker

  7. 7

    M&S should be 'fully online' within four weeks, says boss

  8. 8

    UK sees hottest day of 2025 as heatwave peaks

  9. 9

    Chief rabbi attacks BBC for airing 'vile Jew hate' at Glastonbury

  10. 10

    Small boat crossings in first half of year up 48%

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • The 1975's unmissable Pyramid Stage set

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    1975 Glastonbury
  • The making of Severance's title music

    • Attribution
      Sounds
  • Timeless hits from a 90s icon

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
  • How to avoid boredom

    • Attribution
      Sounds
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.