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In January 2020, Ethier claimed to his YouTube audience that his girlfriend at the time, fellow YouTuber Alexia Marano, had been killed by a [[drunk driver]] in [[Toronto]], Canada. Subsequent videos—originally presented as genuine by Ethier—show him visiting a makeshift memorial and attempting to contact her from the grave by using a [[ouija board]]. Due to the nature of the claims made by Ethier in other videos in the past (such as claiming to have bought children and slaves off the [[dark web]], summoned dead animals, and become decapitated using a [[voodoo doll]]), some viewers and fellow YouTubers were suspicious of the claims.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Katzowitz |first1=Josh |title=YouTuber accused of faking the death of his girlfriend for views |url=https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/imjaydeath-girlfriend-alexia-death-youtube/ |accessdate=27 February 2020 |work=The Daily Dot |date=23 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227075321/https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/imjaydeath-girlfriend-alexia-death-youtube/ |archive-date=27 February 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In January 2020, Ethier claimed to his YouTube audience that his girlfriend at the time, fellow YouTuber Alexia Marano, had been killed by a [[drunk driver]] in [[Toronto]], Canada. Subsequent videos—originally presented as genuine by Ethier—show him visiting a makeshift memorial and attempting to contact her from the grave by using a [[ouija board]]. Due to the nature of the claims made by Ethier in other videos in the past (such as claiming to have bought children and slaves off the [[dark web]], summoned dead animals, and become decapitated using a [[voodoo doll]]), some viewers and fellow YouTubers were suspicious of the claims.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Katzowitz |first1=Josh |title=YouTuber accused of faking the death of his girlfriend for views |url=https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/imjaydeath-girlfriend-alexia-death-youtube/ |accessdate=27 February 2020 |work=The Daily Dot |date=23 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227075321/https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/imjaydeath-girlfriend-alexia-death-youtube/ |archive-date=27 February 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>


After Mutahar of the YouTube channel SomeOrdinaryGamers had called the [[Toronto Police Service|Toronto]] and [[Ottawa Police Service]]s to confirm that Marano is still alive,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Frew|first=Cameron|date=24 January 2020|title=People Want YouTube To Ban JayStation After He Allegedly Faked His Girlfriend's Death|work=[[UNILAD]]|url=https://www.unilad.co.uk/viral/people-want-youtube-to-ban-jaystation-after-he-allegedly-faked-his-girlfriends-death/|access-date=5 May 2021|quote=Fellow YouTuber SomeOrdinaryGamers did some digging. After noticing some glaring plot-holes in JayStation’s story, he decided to try and find out once and for all if Alexia was dead. After some basic online sleuthing told him that she would have died somewhere along the Queen Elizabeth Way, running through and past Toronto, Mississauga and Etobicoke. The YouTuber contacted the relevant police authorities in those areas to ask if there were any reports of Alexia’s death – the resounding answer was no.}}</ref> Ethier admitted that the entire situation was a [[hoax]] that was intended to increase his subscriber and viewer counts, and that he had planned to "resurrect" Marano in a later video. Marano ended her relationship with Ethier after the controversy and has since deleted her YouTube channel.<ref name="WhiteJa20">{{cite news |last1=White |first1=Adam |title=YouTube star admits to faking girlfriend's death to gain subscribers |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/imjaystation-youtube-girlfriend-death-fake-seance-jason-alexia-a9305191.html |accessdate=27 February 2020 |work=The Independent |date=28 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227080826/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/imjaystation-youtube-girlfriend-death-fake-seance-jason-alexia-a9305191.html |archive-date=27 February 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>
After Mutahar of the YouTube channel SomeOrdinaryGamers had called the [[Toronto Police Service|Toronto]] and [[Ottawa Police Service]]s to confirm that Marano was still alive at the time,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Frew|first=Cameron|date=24 January 2020|title=People Want YouTube To Ban JayStation After He Allegedly Faked His Girlfriend's Death|work=[[UNILAD]]|url=https://www.unilad.co.uk/viral/people-want-youtube-to-ban-jaystation-after-he-allegedly-faked-his-girlfriends-death/|access-date=5 May 2021|quote=Fellow YouTuber SomeOrdinaryGamers did some digging. After noticing some glaring plot-holes in JayStation’s story, he decided to try and find out once and for all if Alexia was dead. After some basic online sleuthing told him that she would have died somewhere along the Queen Elizabeth Way, running through and past Toronto, Mississauga and Etobicoke. The YouTuber contacted the relevant police authorities in those areas to ask if there were any reports of Alexia’s death – the resounding answer was no.}}</ref> Ethier admitted that the entire situation was a [[hoax]] that was intended to increase his subscriber and viewer counts, and that he had planned to "resurrect" Marano in a later video. Marano ended her relationship with Ethier after the controversy and has since deleted her YouTube channel.<ref name="WhiteJa20">{{cite news |last1=White |first1=Adam |title=YouTube star admits to faking girlfriend's death to gain subscribers |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/imjaystation-youtube-girlfriend-death-fake-seance-jason-alexia-a9305191.html |accessdate=27 February 2020 |work=The Independent |date=28 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227080826/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/imjaystation-youtube-girlfriend-death-fake-seance-jason-alexia-a9305191.html |archive-date=27 February 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>


In a video posted on January 26, 2020, Ethier claimed Marano had been in on the scam from the beginning. He said Marano had left him and took her belongings with her, and that police arrived at his home to notify Ethier that Marano had accused him of assault and assault with a weapon.<ref>{{cite AV media |author=Ethier, Jason |title=ALEXIA MARANO *THE TRUTH ABOUT HER* |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbnlU9XIoR8 |publisher=ImJayStation |via=YouTube |accessdate=27 February 2020 |date=26 January 2020 |url-status=dead }} {{Dead link|date=May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Justich |first1=Kerry |title=YouTuber under fire after faking girlfriend's death for views. She's alive – and is accusing him of abuse |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/youtuber-faces-abuse-accusations-after-faking-girlfriends-death-001532255.html |accessdate=16 March 2020 |work=Yahoo! Lifestyle |publisher=Yahoo! News |date=1 February 2020}}</ref> Marano said on Twitter that she was "just a little girl caught in the crossfire".<ref>{{cite tweet |last=Marano |first=Alexia |user=AlexiaMarano |number=1224892950242648065 |date=5 February 2020 |title=sos just a little girl caught in the crossfire |accessdate=27 February 2020}}</ref> Toronto Police confirmed that a warrant for Ethier's arrest was issued on February 3, that Ethier had been arrested and charged, and that he would appear in court on March 16 in Toronto's Old City Hall on charges of assault and assault with a weapon. It is unclear if the charges relate to the hoax.<ref name="Insider Ban">{{cite web |url=https://www.insider.com/jaystation-youtube-channels-banned-threatens-lawsuit-girlfriend-2021-3 |title=JayStation, the YouTuber who faked girlfriend's death, threatened to sue the platform for removing his channels |last=Asarch |first=Steven |work=Insider |date=March 17, 2021 |accessdate=April 24, 2021 }}</ref>
In a video posted on January 26, 2020, Ethier claimed Marano had been in on the scam from the beginning. He said Marano had left him and took her belongings with her, and that police arrived at his home to notify Ethier that Marano had accused him of assault and assault with a weapon.<ref>{{cite AV media |author=Ethier, Jason |title=ALEXIA MARANO *THE TRUTH ABOUT HER* |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbnlU9XIoR8 |publisher=ImJayStation |via=YouTube |accessdate=27 February 2020 |date=26 January 2020 |url-status=dead }} {{Dead link|date=May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Justich |first1=Kerry |title=YouTuber under fire after faking girlfriend's death for views. She's alive – and is accusing him of abuse |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/youtuber-faces-abuse-accusations-after-faking-girlfriends-death-001532255.html |accessdate=16 March 2020 |work=Yahoo! Lifestyle |publisher=Yahoo! News |date=1 February 2020}}</ref> Marano said on Twitter that she was "just a little girl caught in the crossfire".<ref>{{cite tweet |last=Marano |first=Alexia |user=AlexiaMarano |number=1224892950242648065 |date=5 February 2020 |title=sos just a little girl caught in the crossfire |accessdate=27 February 2020}}</ref> Toronto Police confirmed that a warrant for Ethier's arrest was issued on February 3, that Ethier had been arrested and charged, and that he would appear in court on March 16 in Toronto's Old City Hall on charges of assault and assault with a weapon. It is unclear if the charges relate to the hoax.<ref name="Insider Ban">{{cite web |url=https://www.insider.com/jaystation-youtube-channels-banned-threatens-lawsuit-girlfriend-2021-3 |title=JayStation, the YouTuber who faked girlfriend's death, threatened to sue the platform for removing his channels |last=Asarch |first=Steven |work=Insider |date=March 17, 2021 |accessdate=April 24, 2021 }}</ref>

Revision as of 05:15, 9 April 2022

ImJayStation
File:ImJayStation (December 2018).png
Ethier in December 2018
Personal information
Born
Jason Matthew Ethier

(1990-02-14) February 14, 1990 (age 34)
Nova Scotia, Canada
Occupation
YouTube information
Channels
  • JayStation (2015–2016)
  • ImJayStation (2016–2021)
  • 666 (2018–2021)
Years active2015–2021
Genres
  • 3 A.M.
  • pranks
Subscribers6 million+
Total views1 billion+
Associated actsAlexia Marano (ex-girlfriend)
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers
Last updated: November 1, 2021

Jason Matthew Ethier (born c. February 14, 1990), better known as ImJayStation or JayStation, is a Canadian Internet personality and former YouTuber.

Career

Ethier began his YouTube career in 2015 as JayStation.[1] In 2016, he was arrested by Ottawa police for trespassing during some of his "24-hour overnight challenges", which showed him allegedly breaking and entering into empty homes, stadiums and office buildings to spend the night. Many of these stunts were staged.[2][3][4] His YouTube channel was demonetized following his arrest. On November 24, 2016, Ethier then restarted on YouTube under the channel name "ImJayStation", re-uploading all of his content except the ones relating to his trespassing.[1] His channel name was a play on PlayStation, a popular brand of video game consoles designed by Sony.[5]

Controversies

Contacting dead celebrities

Ethier received negative response within the YouTube community over his attempts to contact dead celebrities such as XXXTentacion and Mac Miller through paranormal activities (notably ouija boards and "spirit boxes") late at night (known as "3 a.m. challenges").[6] On June 26, 2019, following the death of YouTuber Etika, Ethier uploaded a video using a similar clickbait title as his previous videos. In this video, he apologized for the content of his past ouija board and celebrity death clickbait videos.[7]

Walt Disney World arrest

At around 6:30 p.m. on March 24, 2018, Ethier was arrested at Florida’s Walt Disney World on charges of trespassing and resisting arrest. He claimed that he and a fellow YouTuber were in Florida filming haunted vlogs for future content.[8]

Security had been called on Ethier after he became agitated at the fact that his bag had been accidentally taken by another guest at the park. According to staff, Ethier became agitated after being told to check lost and found or guest claims, instead opting to berate the managers. He was asked to leave the filmed baggage check (which Disney said in an arrest affidavit was a violation of company policy) and was subsequently jailed on a $1,200 bond where he was later released.[9][10][11]

On Twitter and YouTube, Ethier called for his followers to boycott Disney World, threatened legal action against Disney, saying that his camera was stolen by Disney security guards and the Orlando Police Department, the latter of which has no jurisdiction over Disney property.[9]

Assault and fake death of girlfriend

In January 2020, Ethier claimed to his YouTube audience that his girlfriend at the time, fellow YouTuber Alexia Marano, had been killed by a drunk driver in Toronto, Canada. Subsequent videos—originally presented as genuine by Ethier—show him visiting a makeshift memorial and attempting to contact her from the grave by using a ouija board. Due to the nature of the claims made by Ethier in other videos in the past (such as claiming to have bought children and slaves off the dark web, summoned dead animals, and become decapitated using a voodoo doll), some viewers and fellow YouTubers were suspicious of the claims.[12]

After Mutahar of the YouTube channel SomeOrdinaryGamers had called the Toronto and Ottawa Police Services to confirm that Marano was still alive at the time,[13] Ethier admitted that the entire situation was a hoax that was intended to increase his subscriber and viewer counts, and that he had planned to "resurrect" Marano in a later video. Marano ended her relationship with Ethier after the controversy and has since deleted her YouTube channel.[14]

In a video posted on January 26, 2020, Ethier claimed Marano had been in on the scam from the beginning. He said Marano had left him and took her belongings with her, and that police arrived at his home to notify Ethier that Marano had accused him of assault and assault with a weapon.[15][16] Marano said on Twitter that she was "just a little girl caught in the crossfire".[17] Toronto Police confirmed that a warrant for Ethier's arrest was issued on February 3, that Ethier had been arrested and charged, and that he would appear in court on March 16 in Toronto's Old City Hall on charges of assault and assault with a weapon. It is unclear if the charges relate to the hoax.[18]

Second channel and termination from YouTube

On February 25, 2020, following the demonetization of his videos by YouTube and criticism from the YouTube community for his death prank video, Ethier apologized for his past errors and announced his departure from the platform in a 13-minute-long video uploaded to his main channel called ‘Goodbye...’.[19] In the video, Ethier detailed his regrets from his YouTube career, from his paranormal vlogs faking communication with dead celebrities to his homophobic videos in which he drinks a "gay potion". YouTube also confirmed to Insider that Ethier's channel had been demonetized one week before Ethier quit his channel, meaning that he could no longer derive income from his YouTube videos.[20]

However, two months later, Ethier returned to YouTube in a video with his former girlfriend Marano on their joint channel Dream Team, the two claiming to have resolved their differences.[21] Later in the year, the Dream Team channel was wiped of all its content save for one video due to Marano breaking up with Ethier again. Ethier took over the account and restructured it into his second channel, titled “666”, in which he mostly released reaction and gameplay content.

On March 12, 2021, his channel ImJayStation along with 666 were terminated, the given reason being for violating YouTube's Terms of Service. Ethier initially assumed the terminations were a mistake and contacted YouTube to ask to reinstate them. YouTube responded in an email the reasons for his termination. This led to him calling it the "worst platform ever". He claimed on his Twitter account that he "did nothing wrong", and that his channels were wrongfully terminated. This was met with much criticism from other users, with many celebrating his termination, viewing it as having happened much later than it should have. Ethier threatened to sue YouTube over the terminations.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b "ImJayStation: the YouTuber who faked his girlfriend's Alexia's death for hits". Dazed. January 28, 2020. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  2. ^ "Ottawa man vowing to cease after-hours store stunts after police weigh charges". CBC News. October 27, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  3. ^ Schnurr, Joanne (November 15, 2016). "Ottawa Police say trespassing charges to be laid against 24-hour 'overnight challenger'". Ottawa. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  4. ^ "YouTuber faces charges for after-hours stunt videos at empty homes, businesses". CTVNews. November 16, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Youtube Feature: JayStation".
  6. ^ Katzowitz, Josh (October 10, 2018). "YouTuber blasted for 'exploiting' the death of Mac Miller with ghost-hunting video". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on November 17, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  7. ^ "A YouTuber is being called out for clickbaiting Etika's death for views". We The Unicorns. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  8. ^ "This YouTube star was arrested at Disney World—and he has the video to prove it". The Daily Dot. March 29, 2018. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Williams, Michael. "YouTube star claimed to be 'very powerful,' threatened lawsuit during Disney arrest, deputies say". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  10. ^ O'Shea, Sean (March 28, 2018). "Ottawa-based YouTube star charged after dispute with Disney World security officers". Global News. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  11. ^ Ancken, Erik von (March 26, 2018). "YouTuber streams arrest at Disney's Epcot Center after claiming bag was stolen". WKMG. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  12. ^ Katzowitz, Josh (January 23, 2020). "YouTuber accused of faking the death of his girlfriend for views". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  13. ^ Frew, Cameron (January 24, 2020). "People Want YouTube To Ban JayStation After He Allegedly Faked His Girlfriend's Death". UNILAD. Retrieved May 5, 2021. Fellow YouTuber SomeOrdinaryGamers did some digging. After noticing some glaring plot-holes in JayStation's story, he decided to try and find out once and for all if Alexia was dead. After some basic online sleuthing told him that she would have died somewhere along the Queen Elizabeth Way, running through and past Toronto, Mississauga and Etobicoke. The YouTuber contacted the relevant police authorities in those areas to ask if there were any reports of Alexia's death – the resounding answer was no.
  14. ^ White, Adam (January 28, 2020). "YouTube star admits to faking girlfriend's death to gain subscribers". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  15. ^ Ethier, Jason (January 26, 2020). ALEXIA MARANO *THE TRUTH ABOUT HER*. ImJayStation. Retrieved February 27, 2020 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) [dead link]
  16. ^ Justich, Kerry (February 1, 2020). "YouTuber under fire after faking girlfriend's death for views. She's alive – and is accusing him of abuse". Yahoo! Lifestyle. Yahoo! News. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  17. ^ Marano, Alexia [@AlexiaMarano] (February 5, 2020). "sos just a little girl caught in the crossfire" (Tweet). Retrieved February 27, 2020 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ Asarch, Steven (March 17, 2021). "JayStation, the YouTuber who faked girlfriend's death, threatened to sue the platform for removing his channels". Insider. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  19. ^ Ethier, Jason (February 22, 2020). Goodbye... ImJayStation. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ Harris, Margot (February 25, 2020). "Controversial YouTuber who faked his girlfriend's death said he's 'taking a break' from the platform, but he didn't mention he was demonetized". Insider. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  21. ^ Harris, Margot (April 5, 2020). "Infamous YouTuber JayStation reunited with his ex-girlfriend months after faking her death and quitting YouTube". Insider. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  22. ^ Edwards, Luke (March 13, 2021). "JayStation threatens to sue YouTube for deleting his channel: YouTube responds". Dexerto. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
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