![\"Britain\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/britain-s-got-talent-judge-ksi-quits-youtube-collective-sidemen.jpg\")
KSI featured in Saturday\u2019s Britain\u2019s Got Talent (Ian West\/PA)<\/p>\nSocial media star and Britain\u2019s Got Talent judge KSI has announced he is leaving the YouTube collective Sidemen.<\/p>\n
The 32-year-old, whose real name is Olajide Olatunji, has made football, comedy and challenge videos with the group since 2013, and his departure was confirmed to the Press Association by his representatives amid rumours the announcement may have been part of a bet.<\/p>\n
In a post on YouTube, KSI said: \u201cThis is honestly the hardest video I\u2019ve ever had to make in my life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve gone back and forth on this decision for a very long time. I\u2019ve spent months trying to figure out what the right thing to do is.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut after a lot of thought, I\u2019ve decided that I will no longer be doing sidemen videos. Today, 31st of May, will be my final Sidemen video.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven saying those words out loud doesn\u2019t feel real. The Sidemen have been such a huge part of my life for over 12-13 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor almost half my life, this Sidemen has been my second family. We\u2019ve grown up together. We\u2019ve travelled the world together.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe built something that none of us ever thought was possible especially back then when we were making random videos together and playing GTA (Grand Theft Auto).\u201d<\/p>\n
The London-born star, who appeared in Saturday\u2019s final of ITV\u2019s Britain\u2019s Got Talent, said he remembered the group\u2019s early days on YouTube, and that he had \u201cno idea that tens of millions of people were going to be watching us on the channel\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cTogether we\u2019ve done things I never thought were possible. We\u2019ve sold out arenas, we sold out stadiums. We\u2019ve broken records. We\u2019ve made Netflix shows, we\u2019ve done a lot and we\u2019ve shared so many good moments on YouTube and those moments will stay with me for the rest of my life.<\/p>\n
KSI featured in Saturday\u2019s Britain\u2019s Got Talent (Ian West\/PA)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been there for each other through some of the highest highs and lowest lows of our lives. I\u2019ve watched these boys grow into incredible men. I\u2019ve watched them grow into fathers. I\u2019ve watched them grow into husbands. And I\u2019m so incredibly grateful to experience that journey alongside them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe truth is, nothing bad has happened. This decision is completely my own. Over the last few years, I\u2019ve felt myself being pulled in a lot of directions than ever before. Between everything else in my life, I feel like I\u2019ve been running at full speed, at 100mph.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he had been been \u201ctrying to be everything for everyone\u201d and added he had \u201cstarted losing the balance in my own life\u201d as a result, finding it \u201chard to find time for my family\u201d.<\/p>\n
KSI went on to thank each of the group\u2019s other members Simon Minter, Josh Bradley, Vikram Barn, Tobi Brown, Ethan Payne, and Harry Lewis, and said they \u201cdeserve somebody who can give 100%\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI hope you\u2019ll continue supporting the boys, because they deserve it. They\u2019re still going to do amazing things, I know they\u2019re still going to make incredible content, and I\u2019ll definitely be watching alongside all of you.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut for now, I need to focus on myself, and I need to focus on fixing my work-life balance, just so I can finally focus on my health, and finally make time to see my family and make time to see my partner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with making YouTube videos, the group has launched its own fried chicken chain, clothing, alcohol, and cereal.<\/p>\n
KSI began his YouTube career in 2008, making videos of himself playing the Fifa video game, before moving on to making vlogs and comedy clips, later turning his hand to music, releasing two studio albums.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Social media star and Britain\u2019s Got Talent judge KSI has announced he is leaving the YouTube collective Sidemen.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476619,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[93,61,60,282],"class_list":["post-476618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476618\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}